Care Bear Magi Life
by CryosR
Summary: A new story and another family. Founded on a small island, the Care Bear Magi were created to be the protectors of the Care Bear Family, granted great powers to protect the Care Bears from outside threats. This is their story, a story of heartache, comfort, learning, love and life. This is separate from the other Care Bear stories I've written and I hope you all enjoy it.
1. Origin

A/N: I'm not abandoning my other story "Care Bears: Family Adventures" this is just something I wanted to work on.

 **Care Bear Magi: Life**

Chapter 1: Origin

The mother bear reared up and roared which forced the male bear to back away and avert his gaze lest he tempt her wrath. Only when the male had left her sight did the mother bear drop down and usher her young cubs away from his scent.

The male bear sighed as he watched them go. They were almost certainly his children, he recognized the smell of the mother from before hibernation, but he couldn't get near them. He shouldn't have been surprised, as a male bear he was an anomaly in wanting to look after his children. Some might be surprised to learn that bears made very poor fathers, at their worst they would kill cubs in order to force their mothers to mate with them. This bear wasn't like that, his only desire was to be a father; it was this desire that set him apart and caused him so much grief. This was the second time he had fathered children, kept watch on their mother until they hibernated and then approached them the following spring only to be chased off. At least he wasn't nearly killed by the new mother. Let it never be said that the bear didn't learn from his mistakes. This time he left well enough alone, rather than continuing to pursue the mother and her cubs in an attempt to protect them like he had last spring, for which he received a scar on his left side to remember her by.

With little else concerning him, the bear headed for a nearby stream to slake his thirst. As he drank he half-heartedly swiped at a couple fish that swam by, not really feeling like eating.

The sound of galloping hooves drew he bear's attention. He'd heard this before when the humans hunted in these woods. He backed away from the river, the echoes of the galloping seeming to come from all around him. He heard the human's sounds over the galloping, followed by the loud *BANG* from one of their weapons. Terror filled the bear as he whipped his head around, trying to decide where to hide.

The bear turned one way just in time to see a white horse with a spiraled horn on its head emerge from the trees, galloping straight towards him. Its horn glowed bright white as another *BANG* from the human's weapon rang out, this time accompanied by the splintering of wood as it struck a tree. The horned horse looked up just in time to collide with the bear, its horn exploding with white light and then, they were gone.

A moment later the two horseback hunters arrived at the scene, only smelling some of the ozone from their disappearance. They moved on, hoping to find their quarry.

The bear and horned horse were adrift in an glowing void of mist and light. At first there was only a mild hum in air around them, and then immense pain filled their bodies.

The bear heard a voice in his head, that somehow he knew was from the horned horse. "What is this pain?! What's going on?!"

The bear opened his mouth and gave a cry of pain, a strangely human-like cry as his body convulsed around him. "Whaaaat?" he rasped out. The horned horse turned to face him and seemed to be… shrinking. The bear had no more time to comprehend this as a bright white light filled his vision and the pain became overwhelming.

The bear came to lying on soft grass. He lay still, listening for any humans nearby. When only silence greeted him he stood up to look around, only to find the feeling under his paws somewhat off. He raised a forepaw and cried out in shock, his paw was bright blue and moreover it looked like a human hand!

"What's going on?!" He clapped his new hands to his mouth, falling forwards without them to support his body. That was the human language; not only could he speak it but he could recall the words the humans from before had spoken, and understood them: 'Faster! Faster!' 'Don't let her get away!' The memory of those words ringing in his head jolted his memory and his pushed himself back into a sitting position, he scanned the area for the horned horse that had crashed into him.

The horse was seated nearby, her back to a tree. Her once white fur was now moss green, except for her belly and chest which were still white, and she looked sort of like a human, though much more slender than any he'd seen. Her hind legs had cloven hooves at their ends but her forelegs, or rather arms, ended in hands each with four fingers and a thumb. Her short mane was platinum silver, as was the tuft of hair and the end of her thin tail and the feathers of fur trailing off her legs, and there was a dark green valentine heart on the end of her muzzle.

The horned horse noticed the bear move but just stared at him for a moment before she asked, "Are you alright?" her tone of voice was flat.

The bear was astonished to hear her speak but he managed to reply, "I-I'm fine, as much as I can be. What about you?"

"I'm not hurt but," she raised a hand in front of her to get a good look at it, "we've changed."

"What are you?" the bear asked as he tried to stand on his hind legs, like he'd seen humans do, only to stumble and fall back to his rear.

"I'm a unicorn, or I was, I think I still am… maybe…" the humanoid unicorn stood up, using the tree for support in her shaky new biped form. Once she was stable on her feet, the unicorn reached up to touch the spiraled horn that stuck out from her forehead, feeling it just to reassure herself it was still there.

"What's a unicorn?" the bear asked as he walked over to the same tree on all fours before he used it to help him stand as the unicorn did.

"We are a race of ancient creatures, guardians of nature," she said. "However I haven't had contact with any other unicorns in years; I was in your forest searching for others when those hunters attacked me. I meant to teleport myself to a grove where I could be safe." She looked around at the sparse forest, "It seems I managed that at least. I'm sorry I did this to you."

"It's fine," the bear said. Now that he was standing he took a moment to check over his body. The rest of his fur was still bright blue, save for his belly chest, which were white just like the unicorn's. He had hands and he wiggled his now much more flexible fingers, clenching and unclenching his fingers experimentally. The rest of his body felt softer, while he didn't feel weak he looked more plump than he had before, less muscle and more fat. "But why did we change?"

"I don't know. I only used emergency teleport magic. Even if did try to change us intentionally I could not create a form like this."

"I believe I have the answer for that." The echoing voice from overhead startled the bear and unicorn who both looked up and nearly lost their balance at what they saw. It was a giant five pointed star with eyes and a mouth, hovering so close to the ground that it eclipsed the sun, though the star's own glow provided plenty of light.

"Who-who are you?" the bear asked.

"I am the Great Wishing Star, and I am partly responsible for your current existence. I saw your emergency teleportation and poured some of my energy into the astral corridor you used to ease your transformation."

"Ease it, what do you mean?" the unicorn asked.

"You are part of a group of creatures that will be known as the Care Bear Family. Every animal that could join the family has some special quality that allows them to change, with a little extra push. Like you," the star turned its gaze to the bear, "A male bear that wishes to be a father and care for his cubs, rather than simply abandon them or worse: kill them." The bear smiled and blushed slightly, a very unfamiliar sensation.

"However, for you," the star turned to the Unicorn, "I almost had to force your change before it was too late."

"Too late?" the unicorn's eyes went wide.

The star nodded, "Yes. You are the last unicorn. The magic of the world is fading, becoming inert. So little magic is in use these days that it could not sustain the energy of the unicorns. Over the last few centuries, they began fading away one by one, a fate that you too would have suffered had I not saved you. Now, as a Care Bear, your power will be sustained by emotions and your magic will not fade as the others did."

As the star spoke, the unicorn's once muted expression shattered. Her eyes went wide, her mouth fell open, and a powerful new emotion opened a pit in the base of her stomach as tears formed in her eyes and she began to shake. The Great Wishing Star continued, seemingly oblivious to the unicorn's plight. "From this day forwards, for your kindness and caring you will be known as Sage Heart Bear and Life Heart Unicorn." As the star spoke these words both the bear and unicorn's bellies began to glow. When the glow faded there was a heart formed from rainbow colored dust on Sage Heart's chest and an apple tree with heart shaped fruit on Life Heart's chest.

"You will live here on this island, protected from those who wish to harm you, until you meet the rest of the Care Bear Family. When you do you will protect them from their enemies as the Care Bear Magi. Until then, grow, be healthy and-" Life Heart's sudden sob cut him off as she stumbled away, tears streaming from her eyes as she struggled to breath over her crying.

"Oh my, I should have expected this," the star said. Sage Heart was about to run off after her when the Star halted him. "Wait, Sage Heart Bear. Before you go I must impart something upon you. In addition to the other powers of a Care Bear, which you will learn on your own, you have another power. You can reach out and control the elements around you, I can't say exactly how but when you have time you should practise. Now go, Life Heart Unicorn needs you."

"Y-yes," Sage Heart nodded before he took off at a sprint after Life Heart, tripped over his own feet, stood up, then slowly jogged after her. The Great Wishing Star briefly watched him go before his image vanished.

Finding Life Heart wasn't difficult at all. Now that the star's overbearing presence was gone her sobs were easy to hear, especially since the trees in these woods were spaced much farther apart than in his old home. Life Heart was curled up on the ground next to a tree, gasping breaths in between heavy sobs, her tears staining her face and the ground beneath her. Sage Heart tipped toed over to her but froze when Life Heart spoke.

"I-I'm the l-l-last," was all she managed before she broke down sobbing again. Sage Heart finally got next to her and crouched down next to her.

"Life Heart?" he put an arm on her shoulder. Life Heart was shaking in her grief. On instinct Sage Heart hugged her, pulling her close. Her sorrow was contagious and soon Sage Heart was crying too, albeit silently.

Neither knew how to tell time the way humans did but they remained like that long enough for the shadows to shift slightly by the time Life Heart calmed down. Tears still leaked involuntarily from her eyes as she sat up, her back next to the tree. Sage Heart release his hug and sat next to her, his back up against the tree's trunk as well. Life Heart sniffed and rubbed her eyes, taking in a shuddering breath before she spoke.

"Th-thank you, Sage Heart."

"Umm, you're welcome, but I didn't really do anything," Sage Heart shrugged sand shuffled uncomfortably where he sat.

"You stayed with me. You didn't leave or… fade away-hay-hay!" Life Heart started bawling again and almost instantly, Sage Heart embraced her.

"There there just…" Sage Heart bit this lip as he tried to find the right words, "Just let it all out."

"I'm t-t-trying but I c-can't handle thi-hi-his!" Life Heart suddenly threw her arms around Sage Heart, pulling their hug closer. Her bawling didn't take nearly as long to subside this time as she spoke, "They're all g-gone, all *sniff* all of them. I'm the la-la-last unicorn!" She sucked in air through her teeth and once again began to bawl.

The sun had risen overhead by the time Life Heart calmed down, still embracing Sage Heart. "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to this." Life Heart sniffed and wiped the wetness away from her now puffy, red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained face and some snot away from her heart-stamped nose.

"Not use to what, being sad?" Sage Heart asked.

Life Heart nodded, "Before I… changed I didn't feel much. I don't remember if it was always this way but my emotions have always been very dull. I never felt strong… anything except fear when some humans chased me." The green unicorn hugged her knees up to her chest, "I should have done something, I should have found the other unicorns and done… something I…"

Sage Heart put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't blame yourself, that's not going to help anything. You're here, you're alive. I know it's so soon after you heard but… maybe be happy that you're alive and here and safe."

"I don't know…" Life Heart continued to clutch her knees up to her chest until both her and Sage Heart's stomach's started growling. "Maybe we should find something to eat."

It didn't take long for Life Heart to find a bush with ripe blackberries on it. Hunger overtook Sage Heart and he practically dove at the bush, grabbing the berries with his mouth and scarfing them down. Life Heart momentarily forgot her sorrow as she watched Sage Heart satisfying his hunger. She managed a small smile as she approached the bush and leaned forwards and carefully took some of the berries off the bush in her mouth, chewing more slowly and swallowing. The pit had re-opened in her stomach and after swallowing the berries she began to tear into the bush, using both her mouth and hew new hands to tear berries off the bush and cram them into her mouth.

Moments later, the blue bear and the green unicorn lay on the ground next to the bush, their hands and faces stained with blackberry juice and their hunger sated. The pit in Life Heart's stomach had been filled and she felt a bit better, enough that she didn't feel like she was going to burst into tears any moment.

"This grove is just like the others," Life Heart said.

"What do you mean?" Sage Heart turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at her.

Life Heart didn't turn to face Sage Heart as she spoke. "This place is a unicorn grove, no living creature other than unicorns can enter here. We made them millennia ago as places we could hide if we were in danger or needed to rest in seclusion. The teleportation spell I used was created to bring me here, to someplace safe. There will always be food here and anyone who sees the island will think it's an unimportant chunk of rock and ignore it."

"Then why can I be here?" Sage Heart asked, pointing a finger at his own head.

"If that Great Wishing Star turned me into this Care Bear form then maybe he changed the grove to only let Care Bears in. That's why he knows we'll be safe."

Sage Heart just nodded as he digested this information.

They lay in silence for some time before Sage Heart sat up. "I'm going to look around, if this is our home I want to know what's here."

Before he could stand up, Life Heart's hand shot out and gripped his wrist. Sage Heart turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw Life Heart tearing up again. "Please don't leave!" she pleaded as she rolled over to hug his arm.

"I'm not leaving I just, want to look around…" Sage Heart shifted his eyes nervously. They sat in silence for a minute before Sage Heart asked, "Why don't you come with me?" Life Heart just nodded and released her hold on his arm, letting both of them stand up. As soon as they were on their feet Life Heart took Sage Heart's hand in her own. She smiled at him, he smiled back and they set off.

The rest of their day was spent exploring their new home. The grove was a small island dotted with various fruit trees and bushes, spaced far enough apart that they could almost always see the shoreline, and was small enough that they could walk from the short rocky cliff that overlooked one side to the sandy beach on the opposite side with the sun moving only slightly across the sky, and was dotted with various fruit trees and bushes spaced far enough apart that they could almost always see the shoreline.

Life Heart and Sage Heart stood on the beach, hand in hand, and stared out across the sea at the mainland some distance away. The sky glowed orange as the sun reached the horizon and a light wind rustled their fur and Life Heart shuddered, though she said nothing.

Sage Heart narrowed his gaze and shielded his eyes as he stared at the mainland, "I think there's humans over there."

"I think it's one of the human's cities," Life Heart said. "I've never been close to one before."

Sage Heart's face lit up. "Well, let's go see it!" he tried to pull Life Heart towards the sea but she held him back.

"I…c-can't." Life Heart was trembling. Sage Heart stopped and stared at her. She was shaking as thought she were out in the cold, and he grip on his hand was becoming painful. "P-please don't go!" Tears began to stream from her eyes.

Sage Heart cast a quick glance at the opposing shore then turned back to Life Heart and pulled her into a hug. They stayed motionless for some time, Life Heart softly sobbing into Sage Heart's shoulder before he carefully guided her back into the shade of the forest as the sky darkened.

The day had worn the both of them down, perhaps due to their transformation earlier that day, and partway into their walk they moved into the shade of the largest tree they had found and lay down, sheltered by the thick branches as night fell. Life Heart's arms once gain wrapped around Sage Heart as her trembling stopped and she began to breathe normally. Exhausted she drifted off to sleep.

Sage Heart stayed awake for a short time, holding the unicorn close lest she have another breakdown. "Don't worry, I promise I'll be here when you wake up," Sage Heart whispered. He yawned and fell asleep.


	2. Learning and Comfort

Chapter 2: Learning and Comfort

As Life Heart awoke she felt a warm embrace surrounding her, she sighed happily and snuggled closer to the warmth. Eventually she opened her eyes to find her vision obscured by iridescent blue fur and the events of the previous day came rushing back to her. Life Heart struggled to hold in her tears, and failed. She began to shake as she hugged Sage Heart more tightly and took in his scent.

The extra pressure woke Sage Heart up. He opened his eyes to see Life Heart snuggling up to him. He gasped as she squeezed him again, "Can't…breathe…"

Life Heart started and released her grip, "Sorry. You're still here!" her face suddenly lit up in a wide grin and she shot up, jumping, spinning and twirling around like a mad hare. Sage Heart just stared at the display before him with his mouth agape. How could this be the same quiet and blubbering unicorn from the previous day?

Dawn had fully broken by the time Life Heart calmed down. She blushed a deep crimson, "Sorry, I just kind of got away from myself there."

Sage Heart just waved her off, "Don't worry, let's just get some food."

OoOoO

Life Heart had another emotional overload as they ate, trying one of every type of fruit of vegetable she could find in the grove. One could have sworn she was about to burst into song had she not been busy stuffing her mouth with food. However, the energy of a unicorn was far from limitless and after eating more than her fill, Life Heart collapsed for a post-meal nap.

While Life Heart was dozing, Sage Heart was standing nearby, his right hand on his chin. "Control the elements around me?" he asked aloud. The star's words echoed in his head as he stared at his hands. "How do I even start?" Sage Heart paced in a wide circle as he mulled this and other questions over in his head: What were the "elements"? What other Care Bear abilities was he supposed to learn? His head spun and he was forced to lean up against a tree with a hand on his forehead as he stared up through the branches towards the sky. A moment later he looked down as the emblem on his chest and prodded it with a finger. Maybe this was where he should start.

Sage Heart placed both his hands over his chest symbol and tried to feel it. It just looked like an odd fur pattern at first but then he started to feel something? But what? An odd sensation was tingling deep down and he fought to catch it, closing his eyes so he could feel it better. There it was! He could practically see it, a small dot of light, or was it light? Sage Heart pushed onward, trying to reach it. The light grew as he got closer, and closer until.

Sage Heart Bear opened his eyes and looked down. His chest symbol was glowing bright white. The light began to fade as he stared so he reached out for the strange feeling again. The light grew brighter and Sage Heart filled up with emotions so much he felt he might burst. A bright beam of light shot out from his glowing chest symbol, knocking him back into the tree. It faded and instant later which left Sage Heart dazed but uninjured as he steadied himself on his feet.

"That's new," he said.

"What was that?" Sage Heart turned his head to see Life Heart sitting up where she had been dozing.

"Something I just figured out," Sage Heart said, "I wanted to see if I could make something happen."

"Can you show me how to do that?" Life Heart stood up and practically bounced over to Sage Heart. Had she been a dog, her tail would have been wagging.

Sage Heart took a step back and breathed deep before he replied, "OK, just calm down a bit first." Life Heart nodded and took a deep breath then let it out slowly until she was breathing normally.

Sage Heart took Life Heart's hands in his own. "First, close your eyes. Now feel, search inside for a… speck of light deep down."

Life Heart scrunched up her closed eyes for a moment then lit up, "I can see it!"

"Good. Now follow it, reach out for it and catch it!" Sage Heart couldn't help but feel excited as Life Heart's chest symbol started to glow just as his had mere moments ago.

"I have it! It feels so good," Life Heart's body relaxed as she opened her eyed. "Oh-oh my!" she saw the bright glow from her chest symbol.

"There you go," Sage Heart smiled and lit up his own chest symbol, "Now just squeeze it out and, whoa!" The beam of light shot out from his symbol, knocking him to his rear again. Life Heart started giggling and accidentally fired off an energy beam of her own, which launched her on to her back. Life Heart's giggles became uproarious laughter for a short time before the light faded and she was left alternately panting and giggling.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sage Heart stood over the still giggling unicorn and offered a hand to help her up, which she accepted.

"Heeheehee, sorry. I just felt so happy all of a sudden," Life Heart said as she stood up.

"Well that's one new thing we've learned, so now what?" Sage Heart asked. Life Heart gave him a puzzled look and Sage Heart continued: "Yesterday, after you ran off, The Great Wishing Star said we would have 'Care Bear abilities' and I think we just used one. What else can we do?"

"Did it say anything else?" Life Heart asked.

"Well… it did say I would be able to 'control the elements around me' but I don't even know where to start with that." Sage Heart sighed, life used to be so simple.

"Control the elements?" Life Heart repeated. "That sounds like elementalism."

Sage Heart blinked several times then tilted his head to the side, "What?"

"It's a kind of magic that humans used ages ago. They drew in mana from the world around them, changing it into magical elements which they conjure and manipulate." Life Heart said.

"What… how do you know this?" Sage Heart scratched his head.

"I've seen humans use it, over a few hundred seasons past," Life Heart said.

"A few hundred- how old are you?" Sage Heart asked.

Life Heart had to stop and think before she could answer, "I don't know, I've seen hundreds or maybe thousands of seasons pass. I remember seeing humans back before they had cities, back when they first discovered magic…" She trailed off, gripping her upper arms with opposing hands.

"Can you show me?" Sage Heart jumped in, trying to forestall another emotion overload.

Life Heart shook her head and looked up at Sage Heart, "Sh-show you?"

"How to do elementalism," Sage Heart said. "The star said I could so I want to know how."

Life Heart brightened up, "OK!" she squeaked, "First you need to know how to feel mana, here." She took one of Sage Heart's hand in both her own and lit up her horn. "Watch." The light from her horn spread out, illuminating hundreds of blue energy lines floating in mid-air. Sage Heart stared open-mouthed at the lines and webs of energy.

"These are aether strings, the conduits of magical energy that flow throughout the world and regulate the flow of mana, which is the source of life energy and magic." Life Heart's blinked away a tear, "They aren't as… charged as they once were." She shook her head rapidly for a moment then continued, "They can form together into massive lines of energy across the planet called ley lines, which can intersect to create nexus points. Magic of all kinds is more potent on a ley line, even moreso on a nexus point. Every unicorn grove was built on a nexus point."

"This is… I mean…" Sage Heart stammered slightly.

Life Heart giggled at Sage Heart's expression, "Just take it in for a moment. I didn't create these strings they're always here, I just made them easier to see and feel. Give it enough time and you can see them on your own."

Sage Heart nodded and took a deep breath, he could almost hear the aether strings humming. He reached out with his free right hand and touched one of the strings. As his hand passed through the aether string he felt a tingle along his finger and shuddered.

"Every living thing has mana in it and the aether strings carry it around to make sure that no place becomes devoid of it. If you want to be an elementalist then you need to learn how to manipulate this mana, both in yourself and the world around you." Life Heart released a breath, the aether strings vanished and her horn stopped glowing. "First, you need to be able to sense mana on your own. Now close your eyes."

"O-OK," Sage Heart took another deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Don't focus inward yet, focus on the world around you. Focus on the trees, on the insects, the birds flying over the barrier. Focus on me, try to feel the life emanating from every living thing. Try to feel the energy humming in the air around you." Life Heart's voice had become softer, almost ethereal as she spoke.

Sage Heart stood still, trying to feel the energy around him for quite some time. At first there was nothing. Minutes passed and for a time there still was nothing.

Then he felt it

It was faint but a there was a dot of magical energy in front of him. It was just a spec but it had the same tingle as the aether string he had touched. Then more lights, fainter than the first, began to illuminate around him. Sage Heart opened his eyes to see that Life Heart's horn was glowing again. He stared at her, opened his mouth to speak several times, then shut it, unsure what to say.

"Sorry." Life Heart extinguished the glow and hung her head, "I thought if I showed you what the energy felt like, it would be easier."

Sage Heart made no reply but took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. This time there was no dot of energy in front of him and it was all inert, but then he began to sense it. It wasn't as prominent this time but he could feel the tingly energy in the world around him. He opened one eye, just to confirm that Life Heart's horn wasn't lit up, then closed it again.

"I can feel it. It's like tingly light all around me," Sage Heart said.

Life Heart lit up, extinguishing her shame in an instant, "Wonderful! Just keep at it, and try to reach out for it like you did with that energy inside you earlier."

As the morning wore on, Sage Heart slowly walked around the area, sensing each tree, bush, and even the grass beneath him. It was as though he were a blind man suddenly gifted the power of sight. Somehow he knew that the tingles he could feel from every living thing had always been there. Only hunger put a stop to his practise and he and Life Heart sought out an apple tree to take their lunch.

Sage Heart ate a dozen apples before he was satisfied, then sat back against the tree.

"Tired?" Life Heart asked.

Sage Heart nodded.

"Keep practicing and you'll get better," Life Heart said.

OoOoO

As spring turned into summer both Sage Heart Bear and Life Heart Unicorn continued to learn and teach each other. Each day Sage Heart would delve inside himself and try to discover a new ability with their chest symbols.

Sage Heart didn't let up on learning elementalism either, even though it often left him too drained to do anything except eat and rest by the middle of each afternoon. When the time came for him to choose an element to focus on he chose earth.

It was one day in the middle of the summer season, when he awoke before Life Heart, that Sage Heart decided he was going to visit the humans on the mainland.

Because of the heat they hadn't been sleeping close to each other so Sage Heart was able to slip away without waking the unicorn up, grabbing some breakfast as he walked. Now he stood on the beach that faced the mainland as the sun was just rising over the horizon, taking deep breaths to calm his nerves.

"I can do this," he reassured himself for what had to be the thousandth time that morning. Sage Heart took one last deep breath and reached both his hands out, palms forwards. He gritted his teeth as a patch of brown dirt formed in front of him, finally solidifying into disk just large enough for him to lie on. Sage Heart stepped on to his platform. "Here goes nothing," he knelt down and placed his hands on the platform which moved slowly into the water. It nearly sank until Sage Heart created legs of dirt under the water that walked the platform, with him on it, towards the opposing shore.

The sun had fully risen by the time Sage Heart set foot on the mainland's beach, his platform dissolving without him to keep it intact. He cast a glance back at his island home then turned back to face the human town. "Just a short visit, that's all."

The town itself wasn't too large, mostly a wide paved path with larger buildings on either side and smaller dwellings that spread out on smaller dirt paths from the main concourse. Almost all of the buildings had a sign in their windows that said "CLOSED". Sage Heart walked up to each one and peered inside those with unblocked windows. Most were empty but one of them had people inside setting up chairs and tables. One occupant of the building turned to see Sage Heart and started, dropping a glass tube it was carrying that shattered on the ground. Sage Heart took off before the human could see him again.

Sage Heart slowed to a walk panting slightly, "I think most of them are still asleep." He turned to look up at the building he had stopped in front of. It was an older building painted grey-white with few windows, most of which had colorful displays in them of what looked like thick bound pictures. Sage Heart looked up at the words written over the entrance which read "PUBLIC LIBRARY". Intrigued, Sage Heart entered.

It was eerily silent inside the public library, so much so that Sage Heart tread softly as though he might wake a sleeping beast if he were any.

"Good morning- what?" the voice belonged to a young human woman standing behind the front desk near where Sage Heart had entered. She had short brown hair and eyes and was wearing a yellow blouse and long grey skirt. She and Sage Heart stared at each other until the audible *clunk* of a wall clock snapped them out of their stupor.

"What are you?" the woman asked.

"Oh uh… I'm a Care Bear," Sage Heart grinned nervously.

"What's a Care Bear?" The woman forwards to get a better look at Sage Heart.

"Well umm… I don't know really. I was a normal bear until spring and then I was like this." He raised his hands and examined first the palms then the backs before he looked up at the woman. "My name's Sage Heart Bear."

"Sage Heart?" The woman cocked an eyebrow. Sage Heart nodded. The woman cracked a smile then gave a short laugh, only for man nearby to shush her which made her flush slightly. "You can call me Miranda. So what brings you to the library today."

Sage Heart scratched his head, "That depends, what's a library?"

"This place. It's where we store books for use by the public, like this," she produced a paperback book from a bin below the counter. "Can you read?"

Sage Heart took the book and opened it, which felt oddly natural in his paws, and skimmed the pages, reading a few lines in his head. "I can, I just don't know what some of these words mean."

"Well I can show you around if you like. What would you like to read?" Miranda stepped out from behind the desk, smiled, and offered a hand to Sage Heart, whose head came up to her chest.

"Well, I would like to know more about the world and humans. I've never been this close to one before," Sage Heart lit up.

"I think I can help you with that," Miranda led him towards the non-fiction sections.

Sage Heart spent the next few hours reading frantically. His mind absorbed knowledge like a sponge, so much so that by noon he had to stop and just digest what he had read while staring up at the ceiling to give his eyes a break. He looked at the stack of books about half his height, piled up on the reading table. Units of time, technology, and one book in particular that he had just begun to dig into: a book on medieval swordsmanship.

Sage Heart's stomach gurgled and he looked up at a wall clock, doing some quick addition in his head. He had come in when the small hand was at the 8, so… he'd been here four, hours? He felt dizzy as he reminded himself of all these time units that humans used. He was so used to just marking the days and seasons in his mind.

"I should get home, Life Heart's probably worried." Sage left his book pile on the table as he headed for the front door. There were a few gasps and some children's shouts at his passing, which were shushed by other librarians or parents. There were a lot more people in the library than when he had entered; most of them had assumed that Sage Heart was just a big blue teddy bear that someone had left sitting at the table.

"I'll be back later," Sage Heart said to Miranda, who was at the front desk again.

"Don't you want to borrow any of the books?" Miranda asked.

Sage Heart stopped by the doors and turned around to face her, eyebrow raised, "Borrow?"

Miranda couldn't resist a giggle at the Sage Heart's confusion, "Yes. You can take books from the library back home, as long as you sign them out and bring the back in good condition in a week."

"Oh well… maybe later. I need to get home." Sage Heart waved goodbye and headed outside.

The streets were much more lively. Though the small town hardly precluded what one would call "crowds" enough people stopped to stare at Sage Heart as he first walked, then jogged back towards the beach. All these eyes bore into him as he dodged around a man in a business suit and nimbly dodged a little girl who tried to grab him, starting to cry as he passed and asking her mother for a big teddy bear.

Once at the beach Sage Heart barely had to think to recreate the platform of stone that walked him back the island. As he stepped back onto the island he looked back at the shore. Some humans had watched him depart but now had gone back to whatever they had been doing as though he was never there. He waited a couple minutes, did a little dance on the shore, and was relieved to see that the humans paid him no attention. At least Life Heart's claim about them being left alone seemed to be true.

"Sage Heart!" Life Heart's cry caused Sage Heart to whip around, seeing her standing at the edge of the beach. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her teeth visibly clenched as she dashed over to him and grabbed his shoulders. "Where have you been? I woke up and you were gone! I searched the whole island for you… I…" her eyes suddenly widened, her mouth fell open and she began tearing up again, "I though you had di-disappeared and left me alone!" Life Heart started to sob and then clung to Sage Heart, shaking so hard she slid down to her knees on the sand, "I don't want to be alone, not anymore, I can't handle it…"

Sage Heart couldn't move, it felt like Life Heart might fall apart if he tried. Life Heart looked up and Sage Heart looked down. Her eyes were puffy and red-rimmed and her gaze was far-away. "Life Heart… I'm sorry."

Life Heart's face lit up and she pulled her arms around Sage Heart's legs in a tight hug, "But now you're back, I'm just so… Why didn't you tell me you were going to go I…" Life Heart's face shifted from joy, to rage, to sadness and fear again in only a few seconds. "I feel so… I just feel!" Life Heart held her head, "I can't take it anymore, all these feelings and emotions now I!"

Sage Heart stared at her as she shook and finally fell to the sand and spasmed while she held her head. Then she scrunched up her eyes and screamed, "HELP ME!"

Sage Heart snapped out of his stupor and was on the ground at her side in an instant. He leaned forwards and put a hand on Life Heart's arm, which she instantly swatted away. Sage Heart set his jaw, narrowed his eyes, grabbed Life Heart's shoulders and wrenched her up into a kneeling position. "Snap out of it!"

Life Heart stopped shaking and stared at Sage Heart, her eyes teared up again, "S-Sage Heart, wh-why are you-"

Sage Heart just hugged her, trying to stop her shaking. "I'm sorry, Life Heart. I hate seeing you like this, sad, angry, scared. I want to help you."

"Then why did you yell at me!" Life Heart shouted before she started bawling again.

"Just calm down, take a deep breath," Sage Heart said as he held her at arm's length.

Life Heart drew in a shuddering breath and her bawling stopped. Though tears still leaked from her eyes. She looked Sage Heart in his green eyes, which now softly looked back into hers. Life Heart took another, steadier breath as she finally relaxed. "Oh Sage Heart…" she practically fell forwards into a hug with the bear, who just knelt on the sand and hugged her back. "How can I do this? I haven't felt this overwhelmed since we met." Though her voice was calm, Sage Heart still felt her trembling.

"It's alright." Sage Heart rubbed her back, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left without telling you."

"I thought you were gone, that you v-vanished like the other unicorns, that this whole new life was a lie I-" Life Heart choked.

"I promise, I won't do anything like that again," Sage Heart said.

They remained there, nearly motionless for several minutes before Life Heart spoke. "What do we do now?"

"We keep learning," Sage Heart stood and brought Life Heart with him. He calmly wiped from tears from her eyes as he stared back into them. "You keep teaching me magic and I'll show you more of this… Care Bear stuff. I promise I'll always be here if ever you need anything."

Life Heart's smile lit up her face, "Thank you, Sage Heart. I'll always be here for you too."

The mood having calmed, the bear and the unicorn headed inland for their lunch. Sitting near some grape vines they plucked a few bunches and idly munched on them in the shade.

"So, what is it like? The human settlement?" Life Heart asked, fiddling with a grape in her fingers.

"It was quiet at first. I didn't really get to see any humans until I came back. But I did get a chance to look in their library." Sage Heart stuffed several green grapes into his mouth.

"That's where the humans keep their knowledge, correct?" Life Heart asked. Sage Heart nodded, his mouth still full. "I've never been in one but I know humans have used them since they had cities. I remember seeing them, poking little sticks into tablets of clay. Now they use books mostly for the same purpose."

Sage Heart swallowed, "Have you ever read anything?"

Life Heart shook her head.

"I could take you there if you want," Sage Heart said.

Life Heart shuddered, "I'm s-sorry but I can't. I'm scared…"

Sage Heart reached over and took her hand in his. "I'll be with you, I promise. We can't just hide forever."

Life Heart popped another grape into her mouth, chewed, swallowed, then took a deep breath. "I-I'll try." Sage Heart smiled, squeezed her hand, then went back to his meal.

The following day in the early morning, Life Heart Unicorn and Sage Heart Bear stood, holding hands, on the beach that faced the mainland.

"Are you ready?" Sage Heart turned his head to face her.

Life Heart took a deep breath and held it for almost a minute before she exhaled, "I… no… but if you're here I can manage."

"Alright," Sage Heart raised his left hand and concentrated, forming the stone disk he'd used for transport the previous day. "Just hold onto me and everything will be fine." He escorted Life Heart onto the disk and they set off towards the mainland.

Life Heart took her first shaky step onto the opposing beach and let go the breath she'd been holding for the last minute of the trip. She scanned the beach, "No humans, thank goodness."

Sage Heart squeezed her hand still in his own, "Don't worry, I'm here." Life Heart smiled and let Sage Heart led her towards the town.

The streets weren't nearly as deserted as they had been the previous morning and a few people stopped to stare at the blue bear and green unicorn walking upright hand-in-hand down the sidewalk. Life Heart kept her gaze forwards as she felt the stares digging into her; she clung to Sage Heart's arm when they walked right past one of them who just rolled her eyes at the pair.

"Here's the library," Sage Heart said as they stopped in front of the grey-white building. Life Heart still clung to the bear's arm as she looked up at the building. Sage Heart pulled the door open and led Life Heart inside.

Once inside Life Heart visibly relaxed. She released her hold on Sage Heart's arm and allowed herself to look around the inside of the building. Shelves upon shelves of books, she'd never been this close before.

"Good morning." The voice made Life Heart jump and she immediately hid behind Sage Heart, gripping his arm, peeking out at Miranda who stood at the front desk. "Who's your friend, Sage Heart."

"This is Life Heart," Sage Heart looked back at the unicorn trying to hide behind him. "Life Heart, this is Miranda."

"H-hello," Life Heart whispered. She managed to look Miranda in the eyes and Miranda smiled back at her.

"Do you need any help today?" Miranda asked. Life Heart shook her head. "If there's anything I'm here to help," Miranda said.

"Thank you," Sage Heart said before he and Life Heart moved into the library.

As they passed by the front desk Life Heart gazed at the book-filled shelves around her, "There's so much. Where do I start?"

"Over here." Sage Heart led Life Heart down an aisle, "I read some books from these shelves yesterday. Let's see how do I find them again?" He tracked his finger along the lower spines of the books, checking each printed number. "I think this is one," he pulled the book out. "Try reading this, it was a big help."

"O-OK," Life Heart opened the volume and began to read as Sage Heart pulled a few more books off the shelf.

Later when the library became more crowded, more people took notice of the two seemingly living stuffed animals seated at a table by a large window and pouring over a small stack of books they had gathered throughout the morning.

One little girl, being led around by her mother, pointed at Life Heart and shouted in a squeaky voice, "Look mommy, a unicorn!"

Her mother shushed her, as did a couple others close by, "It's rude to point," she said. She couldn't help but look where her daughter had pointed. It was indeed a unicorn, moss green and humanoid but the horn and body shape were unmistakably that of the legendary creature.

The mother had inadvertently released her daughter's hand just for a moment, but that was enough for her to get away and dart over to where Life Heart and Sage Heart were still absorbed in their books. Both had been too engrossed in their reading to notice the girl until she spoke again.

"Are you a unicorn?" she asked, staring at Life Heart with wide eyes.

Life Heart looked over from her book and stared back at the girl for a moment. She smiled and answered, "Yes, I am."

"I'm sorry," the mother came forwards and took her daughter's hand. She looked up at Life Heart, her eyes coming to rest on her horn.

"See mommy, she's a unicorn," the little girl said, pointing at Life Heart's head.

"I see," the woman said. "Let's go." She carefully led her daughter away.

"Are you alright?" Sage Heart had set his book down and gave Life Heart a concerned look.

"She could see me…" Life Heart was still staring at the mother and her daughter.

"I can see you," Sage Heart said, deadpan.

Life Heart shook her head, "Humans can't see a unicorn's horn, unless they still believe in…us," she swallowed hard at the end of her sentence, "most children can see us but her mother…"

"Maybe she still believes in unicorns," Sage Heart reached out and took Life Heart's hand in his own.

"Maybe…" Life Heart looked cross-eyed up at her horn for a moment then she turned and looked out the window.

Sage Heart followed her gaze, then upwards where dark clouds were gathering in the sky. "Looks like rain. Want to head home?" he asked. Life Heart nodded.

The clouds overhead rumbled as Life Heart and Sage Heart sped through the city, first walking and then jogging as the clouds rumbled closer. Life Heart looked back over her shoulder and her face paled, for the dark clouds were now a gloomy purple color and two bright red eyes glared angrily towards them. Life Heart shrieked and broke into a sprint as did Sage Heart. Not a moment later a bright purple bolt of lightning struck the ground where they had been standing not two second prior with a thunderous boom that only leant more speed to their feet and hooves.

"What… is…that!?" Sage Heart shouted between pants.

"Run!" Life Heart shouted as they made it to the beach and more lightning danced at their heels.

Sage Heart's mind was filled with fog as he overtook Life Heart and he desperately tried to create their earth platform while running, only to step in a shallows pool and fall to the sand. Without stopping Life Heart poured out her magical energy catching Sage Heart where he lay and lifting the both of them up over the water encased in a field of green energy. Their momentum increased as they arched up over the water and onto the shore of their island home.

Sage Heart rolled onto his back to get a look at the red-eyed purple storm cloud that still chased them. Both sat frozen, fear and exhaustion rooting them to the spot as more purple lighting gathered in the cloud and lanced out at them, only to be stopped in mid air as it struck an invisible wall more than three meters from where they lay.

"The grove's protection, it still works," Life Heart said. Both flinched as the cloud itself seemed to bellow at them and renewed its assault on their home, but each bolt stopped by the barrier.

Instinct galvanized Sage Heart into action as he took Life Heart's hand in his own. "We need to use that beam."

"What?" Life Heart just stared, open mouthed, at him.

"That light beam from our chest symbols, we need to shoot it at that cloud!" Even as he shouted Sage Heart was able to get his symbol glowing. Life Heart was a bout to protest when another bolt struck the barrier, this one more than twice the strength of the previous.

Life Heart gathered her courage and stood up with Sage Heart. Their symbols glowed brighter and they fired off their beams of light straight into the cloud. The cloud roared in pain as the twin beams of light struck it. It writhed in pain and threw off more scattered bolts striking the barrier once more, but it held. The barrier held as did the beams of light until the cloud shrunk to half its original size and floated away, the glowing red eyes still fixed on Life Heart and Sage Heart as the attack ended. The unicorn and bear barely managed to get inside the border of their forest before they collapsed, completely drained.

They lay there for a good five minutes before Sage Heart spoke. "What was that thing?"

"I… don't know." Life Heart managed to inch closer to Sage Heart and put and arm over his back, "Will it come back?"

"I don't know," Sage Heart said. He rolled on to his side in order to face Life Heart, his eyes softened towards her. "But if it comes back, we'll chase it off again."

Life Heart just nodded, and then fell asleep. Sage Heart following suit soon after.

The brown pig creature stumbled in his sweeping duties as he heard his master returning "B-b-b-boss, what happened?"

The wizard glared at him. "Be silent! They were more powerful than I anticipated, this amulet is useless to me now!" He threw the red-gemmed triangular amulet against a nearby wall, where it crumbled to dust upon impact. "That barrier will not let me inside, but perhaps one of their own kind…" he turned to a shelf filled with spell books. "Beastly! Go and retrieve what was left of that group we got to first. I may need their remains."

"Yes lord No-Heart, shakakakakaka!" Beastly cackled as he ran down the stairs.

Sage Heart brushed a yellow leaf off the pages of the book he had supported on a small pillar of earth. "OK," he took a deep breath, his chest symbol glowed and a swatch of light streamed out into his hands. Sage Heart breathed slowly as the light formed into a long shape and dissipated which left Sage Heart holding a wooden longsword in his hands. He stumbled slightly with the weight of the sword for a moment before he held it securely and read a passage from the book. "Use more of your wrist," he said aloud as he took a couple experimental swings with his wooden sword.

Life Heart sat nearby watching Sage Heart's sword practise. She winced slightly when he stumbled over a tree root, but thankfully didn't fall.

Once Sage Heart stopped to catch his breath Life Heart spoke up, "Are you sure you want to keep doing this?"

Sage Heart smiled and nodded, "Yes. It's fun and I want to learn another way to fight. That purple cloud can't be the only thing out there that's dangerous."

"Maybe…" Life Heart said. As Sage Heart lifted his sword to begin again she raised her voice, "Wait! Can you help me with something first?"

Sage Heart blinked, dissipated his sword and retrieved his book from the earthen pedestal, which sunk back into the ground. "Of course, what?"

"I'll show you." Life Heart took Sage Heart's free hand and led him away. It wasn't long before they reached the top of a short cliff overlooking the sea opposite the mainland. Life Heart stopped some distance from the edge, "We need a home, somewhere safe to sleep when it gets cold."

"Or rains," Sage Heart nodded, released her hand and set his book on the ground. "How can I help?"

"I need your help to create and shape the stone for our home. A cave of some size with some other elements I can add." Life Heart scuffed her hoof on the ground, "Will you help?"

"Of course!" Sage Heart's voice made Life Heart jump slightly, but she smiled and took his hand again.

"Alright," she pointed to the clear area ahead of them, "Create and raise as much stone as you can there. I'll help you to shape it."

Sage Heart nodded and reached out his free left hand. He concentrated as the loose rock hardened into a solid stone floor and then more stone rose from the ground forming a tall rocky hill in front of them. As the hill rose Life Heart channeled magic into her horn and directed it at the forming hill. Sage Heart felt the course of her magic and let her guide his actions. As the rocks rose, a cave formed opening wider than the two friends and growing deeper. Life Heart turned her attention to the ground near the entrance and displaced the rock, forming an empty pool in the rock, deep enough at its center to be up to their chests with a small run-off drain that lead to the cliff and down to the sea below. With the pool finished Life Heart turned her attention upwards to the new plateau. Sensing that his role was finished, Sage Heart stopped and looked up. A pale blue glow emanated from the top of the rock hill and a moment later water began to stream down over the side in a small waterfall down into the pool Life Heart had created, flowing through the run-off into the sea as it became full. For a final touch, grass and flowers sprouted up all around the pool and over the rocky hill.

Life Heart exhaled and fell back, completely winded. "There… all done," she panted.

Sage Heart smiled and helped her stand, "It's beautiful, but…" he looked up at the source of the waterfall, "Where is that water coming from?"

Life Heart smiled, "Magic. Creating fresh water is simple magic and a permanent source isn't much harder." Sage Heart nodded and helped her in the cave, where she immediately sat down.

Sage Heart took a moment to survey their new home, not that there much to survey. The cave was spacious and took a sharp left turn at the back before stopping at a flat dead-end. Simple but functional. Sage Heart walked past the still resting Life Heart, "I'd like to get back to my lesson. Do you want to watch?" Life Heart shook her head. Sage Heart nodded then left.

Winter's approach was much too soon for their liking, but even Life Heart's grove could not keep the changing season at bay.

Life Heart brought and arm load of fruit in and set it on the pile that she had gathered at the back of their home. She directed her horn at the food and shivered as her magic enveloped it. "This should last… me a few months." She looked out at Sage Heart, who was regarding an overlarge pile of fruit with fruit pits littering the ground around him.

Sage Heart lay back and patted his full stomach. "Not as easy as last year," he mumbled. He reached for a handful of berries but stopped and groaned.

"You don't have to do this." Life Heart placed a hand on Sage Heart's shoulder.

"I can't exactly stop torpor, it's part of being a bear." Sage Heart raised a hand to touch Life Heart's own. "I'll still be here."

"But… you'll be asleep… for almost three months." Live Heart took a deep, shuddering breath but said held it in, "I need to gather more food."

Sage Heart watched her go then turned back to the food and sighed, "Maybe later." He stood up, unsteady on his feet, and headed for the mainland.

The late autumn wind sent shivers up Sage Heart's spine as he walked up the beach and through the town with the manual of medieval swordsmanship tucked under his arm. The townsfolk only gave Sage Heart a quick glance or waved in his direction, to which he responded in kind.

Sage Heart entered the library and set the book up on the returns counter. Miranda smiled over at Sage Heart and she retrieved the book. "Here to renew again?" she asked.

Sage Heart shook his head, "No, just a return. I'll be back for it in spring though."

"Oh right, hibernation." Miranda opened the book and retrieved the card from the inside cover, replacing it with a clean one.

"Torpor actually, I don't stay motionless and under the whole time. I wake up from time to time and it's just a long sleep…" he scratched his head. Reading about his own species' biology from a human perspective brought up odd questions for him.

Miranda just nodded a she placed the book on the cart of books to be re-shelved. "How's Life Heart?"

Sage Heart looked down at his feet, or rather and his full stomach that blocked the view of his feet, "She's alright, just gathering her own food for the winter. She doesn't want me to sleep though."

"Makes sense, I wouldn't want to spend all winter alone on an island." Miranda said.

"She can always come into town right?" Sage Heart asked, he looked up at Miranda almost pleadingly.

"Well… she could but I doubt she'll see much. Not many kids because of school and most people just stay indoors unless they're shovelling their walks. Winter gets bitter out here," Miranda mused.

"Right…" Sage Heart sighed, "Well, I'll see you in spring." Sage Heart turned and left the library. Miranda stared at the door he had exited through for a moment before she moved to re-stock the cart of books.

As is sometimes the case, winter's arrival was sudden. One night there was merely a chill in the air and when Life Heart Unicorn awoke the next day the whole world was white. Life Heart had the foresight to put up a magically barrier at the entrance of their cave home to keep the wind and cold out but still she sat there alone. As she ate a peach she had magically preserved she glanced over at the sleeping form of Sage Heart Bear. It had been two weeks since his torpor began and he had not budged from where he lay, sleeping in his nest of evergreen near a small fire that Life Heart kept going off and on throughout the weeks.

Life Heart had to constantly fight the urge to rouse him, if only to have someone to talk to, but she let him rest with only his soft breathing and the whistle of the wind outside for company. The birds had flown south and any other animals were asleep much like Sage Heart. As for the humans even if Life Heart had the nerve to go visit them on her own they were cooped up inside their homes, when they weren't at work or school, and amused themselves with books or electric entertainment.

Over a dozen times Life Heart had gone to sleep, hoping that she would sleep the winter away with her friend, only to wake the next day. No matter how hard she tried Life Heart could only sleep the night. When she didn't sleep she paced, practised with her chest symbol, reviewed and tested her magic and even did what exercise she could in the spacious but still confined cave. Cabin fever was setting in but Life Heart held on, it was all she could do.

Another two weeks passed before Life Heart's nerve got the better of her. It was a windy winter day when, after a breakfast of apples, she decided that the isolation was worse than whatever awaited her outside. As she stepped through the magical heat barrier at the entrance to her home the wind threatened to tear the fur from her body. Hastily she threw up a barrier of heat around herself, blocking as much of the wind as she could, and set off for the mainland.

One quick magical flight found her on the frozen beach, the wind even more intense without the trees to act as wind barriers. Nevertheless, she soldiered onwards to the town, hoping she could at least find someone to talk to.

Life Heart wasn't sure how long she wandered the windy streets, the wind and cold kept at bay by her magic, but even without the near whiteout she hadn't seen anyone outside. She wandered up and down the main street and down the dirt roads to the houses, peering in at individuals or families warmed by blankets, watching television, listening to music or reading books. It was all she could do to avoid crying out in envy until she returned to the main road. Was this to be her fate until the winter ended?

When she returned to the main street she just stood there, letting the wind buffet her magical barrier, briefly contemplating just letting the barrier drop. A sudden hand on her shoulder made her whirl around, horn alight ready to deal with the assailant. She gaped, "Sage Heart?"

Sage Heart stood there, shivering but strong, one arm across his chest and the other on her shoulder. "So th-that's where you w-went."

"Sager Heart, I thought you were sleeping, w-what, h-how?" Life Heart stammered, not realizing her barrier was weakening.

Sage Heart had to concentrate to keep his voice from chattering in the cold, "I was, but I couldn't sleep well. I guess even if I had to I didn't feel right just leaving you alone all winter." He shuddered, "We should get back to the cave n-now."

"No, come with me!" The muffled voice caused them to turn around, seeing a person wrapped in thick winter clothing, including a scarf that obscured most of their face.

Despite the cold, Sage Heart was instantly on guard, "Who are you?!" he demanded, struggling to use his chest symbol.

"Miranda," the woman replied, "Hurry up before we all freeze!" Miranda took Sage Heart's hand and began to lead him away. Cold and tired but willing to trust their human friend, Sage Heart took Life Heart's hand and let them be led away. Life Heart didn't protest, she trusted both of them.

It was but a few minutes later that Sage Heart Bear and Life Heart Unicorn found themselves seated on a loveseat under a large thick blanket as Miranda brought them each a mug of hot chocolate.

"Thank you," Life Heart said, lifting her mug to drink. She yelped as the hot liquid nearly scalded her tongue and almost dropped the mug. Sage Heart regarded his own mug suspiciously before he looked up at their host.

"You're welcome, and just sip it. It will help warm you up." Miranda was out of her usual library attire, the more professional long skirt and blouse, and now wore a wool sweater and sweat pants as she took a seat on an armchair with her own cup of hot chocolate. She sipped at it as she had instructed the other two. "Why were you two out there in that blizzard?"

Life Heart had finished cooling her tongue and sighed, "I was lonely with Sage Heart sleeping so I…" she trailed off, blushing.

"And when I woke up and saw she wasn't there I went after her and… yeah…" Sage Heart sighed.

"Well we all do stupid things. You can stay here until the blizzard dies down," Miranda offered.

"Thank you, Miranda." Life Heart went back to sipping her hot chocolate. "But how did you know we were out there?"

"I saw you peeking into my window, I thought I was seeing things but… well I wanted to make sure," Miranda said.

"So do you live here alone?" Sage Heart asked.

Miranda nodded, "I used to be married, but it didn't work out for us. So I've lived on my own since then."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Life Heart finished her drink and her eyes softened towards the woman.

"It's fine. If anything I feel better than when I was married. The city was always too busy for me, but it's nice to have guests."

The next couple hours passed with light conversation as Miranda, Sage Heart and Life Heart swapped stories of their lives. By early evening the wind had died down and Life Heart and Sage Heart took their leave. Before they exited, Miranda passed them a large bag.

"Here, it's the blanket from my couch. Don't worry I have a half-dozen of these. Consider it an early Christmas present. Please come visit me on a warmer day," Miranda smiled at them.

"Thank you, we will," Life Heart said. She and Sage Heart gave Miranda a hug before they set out into the cold.

With help from Life Heart's magic they made it back to their island cave home without interruption. Life Heart sighed as they passed though the barrier covering the entrance to their home. "I guess you'll be going back to sleep," she said.

"Maybe, but not for too long," Sage Heart put a hand on her shoulder. Life Heart turned to face him, a dim light of hope in her eyes. "How about this, we can sleep together and if you want me up, I'll be there for you even if I want to sleep."

"Really?" Life Heart asked, her face brightening.

"Really," Sage Heart withdrew the blanket from the bag Miranda had given them. "I'll be here for you, always."

Life Heart and Sage Heart fell asleep, snuggled together under the blanket.


	3. Family

A/N: While I was starting to write this chapter I realized that this story might get into nsfw territory going forwards, but that's in the nature of the story. I decided to title this story Care Bear Magi _Life_ both because it introduced Life Heart Unicorn and because the story is supposed to explore multiple aspects of life for the characters. I felt the need to warn anyone who's reading this just in case they find this objectionable. I haven't increased the rating yet but I may have to in the near future.

Chapter 3: Family

Beastly struggled under the weight of a sack easily twice his size, which squished and squelched as it bumped up the stairs. Beastly stopped in No-Heart's lab and watched the wizard for a moment as he pulled a large volume from a bookcase. The wizard turned and narrowed his blood-red eyes at Beastly.

"Are those the remains?" he asked.

"Y-yes, b-b-b-boss," Beastly dragged the sack around and presented it to No-Heart.

"Bring it over to the table." No-Heart turned with a flutter of his purple robe and moved towards the table. The table in question was covered in surgical tools: scalpels, bone saws, clamps, needles and strong surgical thread. The sack squelched to a halt next to No-Heart as he set the book on the table, a book with the title _Fleshwarping_ on the cover, and he reached down into the sack and drew out an arm mostly covered in dark blue fur and heavily stained brown with dried blood.

"There should be enough," he muttered as he set the arm on the table in front of him.

Beastly knew better than to ask what No-Heart was up to but watched as he poured liquid from a vial on the arm then reached into the sack and pulled out the right side of a torso, pink with black stripes, and poured more of the same liquid on to it. No-Heart picked up and needle, levitated the surgical thread through the eye and began to stitch the arm on to the empty socket of the upper torso.

Miranda looked up from the desk as she heard the library's front door open and smiled as Sage Heart Bear strode in. "Good morning and happy spring," she said brightly.

Sage Heart smiled back. "Thanks, Miranda." He scanned the library's floor, "It's quiet today, even more than usual."

Miranda nodded. "So how's Life Heart doing?"

"She's doing great," Sage Heart sighed happily and a light smile settled upon his face.

"Oh?" Miranda smiled, "How are the two of you doing?"

Sage Heart blinked, "I just said we're fine, I mean…" he paused.

Miranda giggled, "Sorry. I thought that the two of you might be together now."

"Together?" Sage Heart half-scrunched one eyed and tilted his head.

"As mates. I didn't think you two would be married the way I think of it?" she asked.

Sage Heart blushed and gaped for a moment. "I-I never thought about it, I mean…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." The sound of the door drew Miranda's attention to the new arrival. Sage Heart took his chance and darted away from the desk.

It wasn't long before Sage Heart was deep into the same book he'd studied for most of the last year, the manual of medieval swordplay, except he couldn't focus. His mind kept wandering back to what Miranda had said. What was his relationship with Life Heart? Was she just his friend? His mind drifted farther and he smiled as the unicorn overtook the rest of his thoughts. She was beautiful, gentle, kind but emotionally unstable (though not as much as she had been when they first met). She had also been more patient than he thought she'd be when was teaching him.

Sage Heart blinked and looked up at the clock. He'd been daydreaming for about half an hour. He shook his head and stood up, leaving the book on the table as he dashed towards the entrance, nearly crashing into a man as he opened the door to enter.

"Excuse me, sorry!" Sage Heart shouted as he ran down the street towards the beach, only slowing down when his feet touched the sand. He conjured his earthen platform, stepped on and rode it back to the island. He smiled as he stepped onto the shore of the island and walked towards him home at an easy pace.

Sage Heart's smile grew wider as he came in sight of his home and saw her. Life Heart Unicorn was standing in their bathing pond and letting the waterfall wash over her. Sage Heart couldn't help but stare as Life Heart ran her hands through her hair and pulled any tangles loose before she let the silver waterfall cascade down her back. She was beautiful.

Life Heart pulled her head from the waterfall and opened her eyes. She blushed as she caught sight of Sage Heart and smiled. "H-hello."

Sage Heart couldn't help but blush as he stepped out from the foliage and crossed the clearing towards her. "Good morning," he said.

Life Heart stepped away from the falling water and took a deep breath. His cheeks were still red but her smile widened and she offered a hand to Sage Heart. "Would you like to join me?"

It took all of Sage Heart's willpower to avoid jumping for joy. Yes, he was certain now. He accepted her hand and stepped into the pool. "Yes I would."

A moment later Sage Heart was under the flow of the waterfall, cleaning off the dust, sweat and nerves from his early morning excursion to the town. He turned around to find himself face-to-face with Life Heart. Her face was still red and smiling. No words were needed. Life Heart stepped forwards. Sage Heart put his arms around her. They leaned in and kissed.

Time stood still even after their kiss ended. They stood there, arms around each other, resting their heads against one another. Finally, they separated. "I-" they both stopped and Life Heart giggled.

Sage Heart blushed "Sorry."

"It's alright," Life Heart smiled. "I love you, for always being there for me, helping me through the hardest part of my life and the compassion and stability you've brought me, Sage Heart Bear."

"I love you too. You have a beautiful spirit, you're gentle and kind and you mean the world to me, Life Heart Unicorn." They both blushed.

"So what do we do now?" Life Heart asked.

"What comes naturally." Sage Heart smiled and kissed Life Heart on the neck which caused her entire face to turn a deep crimson.

"Oh-oh my you mean? I've never, I mean…" Life Heart rested her head on Sage Heart's shoulder.

"What? You mean you've never had a mate?" Sage Heart pulled his head back, careful not to dislodge her.

Life Heart shook her head, "No, have you?"

"Twice, before we met, but they didn't want me around. I can show you if you like," Sage Heart offered.

Life Heart nodded, "I would."

A moment later they were inside their cave home, sitting together at the rear wall. "So what do I do?"

"Well…" Sage Heart put a hand on his chin, "I just followed my instincts before, now it feels… different."

"Like this?" Life Heart leaned forwards and planed a soft kiss on Sage Heart's lips. Her face was hot and it was all she could do to avoid running off to hide.

Sage Heart smiled and put his arms around her, pulling her up against his chest, "I think this works." He kissed her back. Life Heart leaned in more and before they knew it Sage Heart was flat on his back. Life Heart held Sage Heart's face against hers in a deep kiss and closed her eyes.

Life Heart pulled back and smiled, "This feels right."

Sage Heart smiled back and brought his arms up to her shoulder blades. "It does." He kissed her again, "Are you alright?"

"Just scared…"

"If you don't want to-"

"I do! Just… show me how."

"I will."

No- Heart stood back from the table and observed his creation: right blue bear's arm, right pink and black striped zebra torso, left torso green and brown spotted like a giraffe, left arm a yellow hawk's wing, right leg a brown elephant's, right red and thinner that ended in a deer's hoof, and its head a stitched together amalgamation of orange wolf, purple panther, and teal rhino. All-in-all better than he expected from the mish-mash of parts he had to work with.

"And now to animate it," No-Heart pointed a hand at the stitched up bodies and drew out nine tiny glowing shards. Dozens of other shards floated out of the sack of remains and they coalesced into a sphere the size of a baseball. The glow faded to a multicolored mosaic as the sphere lowered and sank into the body's chest.

No-Heart raised both his arms towards the thunder pit and began chanting in a strange language. Beastly darted behind a door arch as electricity arced out of the thunder pit and enveloped the stitched together body. The lightning danced along the body for a full minute before it began to stir and its arms and legs began to twitch.

"Good. Beastly!" No-Heart shouted. Beastly jumped and darted to his master's side, "Pick up this flesh golem and follow me." No-Heart headed for the stairs as Beastly scrabbled to pick up the creature. He staggered under the care bear flesh golem's weight for a moment then followed after his master.

No-Heart stopped in a mostly barren storage room, the same place the remains had been stored. The wizard pointed to a spot on the ground. "Leave it here and keep an eye on it. The _instant_ it awakens find me and I will see to its progress." Beastly nodded.

No-Heart turned to leave as the noise of an explosion rocked the upper floor. "What?!" No-Heart stormed upwards as he heard shattering glass and thumping noises. The spell-lab was filled with smoke which No-Heart swept away with a wave of his hand.

There was shattered glass on the floor and the table and the table itself was scorched. No-Heart swept the area and narrowed his eyes. The bag of remains and the fleshwarping book were gone! A sudden rush of air drew his attention to an open window high up on the wall. "Bring it back!" No-Heart shouted as he turned into a tornado and flew up to and out the window. He cast his gaze about, searching for the intruder.

A figure cloaked by dark clouds held its breath as the tornado swept around. It watched No-Heart for almost five minutes before it heard a squealy voice from a nearby window.

"Boss! It's awake!"

The tornado seemed to huff and flew through the window. The cloaked figure let its breath go then hefted the bag of remains over its shoulder and let the solid dark clouds drift down towards earth.

Life Heart was sweaty. Life Heart was tired. Life Heart was in pain. Life Heart had never felt like this before. She lay next to Sage Heart and stared at the ceiling.

"Are you OK?" Sage Heart asked. He rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hand, his elbow on the cave floor.

"I… don't know." She continued to stare blankly up at the ceiling. "I feel different, even more then after I transformed. It hurt and it feels good and I…" Life Heart wrapped her arms around herself and started to tremble but stopped when she felt Sage Heart's hand on her shoulder. She rolled on to her side and gazed into his soft green eyes.

"Did I hurt you?"

"A little…"

"I'm sorry." Sage Heart tried to withdraw his hand but Life Heart took gentle hold of it.

"Don't apologize. I'm happy it was you." Life Heart drew Sage Heart into a hug and kissed him.

"Try it again!" No-Heart bellowed. The Golem raised its arm and wing and stared ahead as mana gathered in front of it, only to disperse in a small puff.

"Again!" No-Heart shot a blast of purple lightning at the golem, scorching its back and causing it to stumble. The golem raised its limbs and tried again to summon the mana, and again it fizzled.

"Again!" another purple lightning bolt, "We will do this until you can control mana!"

The golem said nothing but stared blankly forwards as it tried again…

Winter was coming and Life Heart Unicorn couldn't be happier. For the first time she strolled through the town on her own, smiling and taking in the sights and the sounds. She shivered slightly as a cool breeze blew through the town and waved back to a few of the townsfolk she recognized. She knew the town's layout well enough and it wasn't long before she was knocking on the door to Miranda's house.

Miranda answered and started slightly. "Life Heart, what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to visit my friend before winter sets in." Life Heart stepped in and Miranda closed the door behind her.

"Where's Sage Heart?" Miranda asked as she shut the door.

"Back home," Life Heart hopped up onto the couch. "He's not going to sleep for all of winter but it is easier if we do that most of the time."

"I see you've gotten started already." Miranda prodded the slight pudge on Life Heart's normally slender frame.

Life Heart blushed, "I have been eating more lately."

Miranda smiled and moved over to a cupboard. "So how are you and Sage Heart doing."

Life Heart brightened up and sighed contentedly, "Wonderful."

"So you two have already- here it is!" Miranda pulled a bulky package covered in green and red wrapping paper. She handed it to a very red-faced Life Heart.

"What's this?" she asked, her face returning to its normal moss green.

"A Christmas present for you and Sage Heart." Miranda said, "Save it until its snowing and then open it."

"Oh, thank you." Life Heart smiled and set the package down next to her.

"As long as you're here, would you like something to eat? I was about to make dinner." Miranda headed for the kitchen.

"I would. Thank you."

"Finally!" No-Heart glared as the golem held a glowing mote of light in its hands. "Now you will learn how to control it, and gather more." No-Heart raised a hand, then stopped and yawned. "For now you will rest. Beastly!" Beastly darted in. "Guard this golem and allow it to recuperate. It does not need to eat but do not let it leave."

"Yes b-b-b-boss."

No-Heart turned and left Beastly just staring into the blank eyes of the golem. He poked and prodded it a few times, then laughed. "Shakakakakaka, you can't even talk can you?" he asked. It said nothing but continued to stare at Beastly. "Well, lie down, on the ground." He said. The golem stood there.

"Lie down!" he pushed the golem but found it unmovable as stone. "Dummy, like this!" Beastly promptly fell to his back and began snoring uproariously. A sudden thud started him out of his stupor and he looked up at the golem, which seemed to have fallen over. He got up and walked over to the golem. It was staring up at the ceiling, unmoving. Beastly waved a hand in front of its eyes and it followed his hand with its eyes. Shrugging he lay back down to get some rest of his own.

Life Heart Unicorn stirred under the blanket, opened her eyes then smiled and snuggled closer to the still sleeping Sage Heart Bear. She paid no attention to the howl of winter wind from the entrance, only wanting to be here with her mate.

Hunger finally convinced her to get up. She slipped out from under the covers and stumbled upwards, using the wall for balance. Her center of gravity felt off. She lit up her horn and release four glowing balls of light to float around and illuminate the chamber. She looked down and gaped.

Her belly had ballooned outwards into a round dome, stretching out her tummy in the process and spreading her chest symbol across her now larger chest. She tentatively moved her hands downwards to stroke it. It was solid, not soft like fat and it felt alive! Life Heart's mind ran thought dozens of possible explanations but it settled on only one possibility.

"I'm pregnant."

Life Heart leaned back against the wall with her pregnant tummy cradled in her hands. Every so often the child would shift or kick but otherwise it remained still. How was this possible? Unicorns didn't-couldn't get pregnant, at least she never heard of such a thing. Then again she wasn't as she had been for eons before. She glanced down at the still sleeping Sage Heart. How would she tell him? She had until he woke up which could be in a few minutes, a few days, or after she went back to sleep herself.

Life Heart pushed off from the wall and headed for the cave entrance, her new weight forcing her to waddle. She stopped at the cave entrance and watched the blowing snow, protected by the shimmering barrier of her spell. She breathed deep as the storm raged on and carefully opened a small crack in the barrier, the momentary blast of cold air clearing the last of cobwebs from her mind before she shut it again and shivered. Her child started kicking up a storm in protest and he patted her tummy. "There there. It's alright. Mommy's here," she said. She giggled. Mommy, a word she never thought she'd use for herself. Further protest, this time from her stomach, led her back to the pile of magically preserved food stacked by where they slept for a much needed meal.

The sounds of Sage Heart stirring brought Life Heart out of her little feast. She had consumed an entire pile of berries and fruit. Satisfied for the moment, she stood up, waddled over to Sage Heart and lay down next to him under the blanket as he opened his eyes.

Green eyes met hazel and Sage Heart smiled. "Good morning, Life Heart."

"Good morning, Sage Heart, and Merry Christmas." Life Heart kissed him.

"It's Christmas?"

"Close enough. I have a present for you." She took one of his hands under the blanket in her own and placed it on her stomach. Sage Heart gave her a curious look, then his eyes went wide as he felt a kick.

Sage Heart drew back the blanket and stared at her tummy. He carefully placed his other hand on her tummy. Sage Heart's face lit up and he drew her tummy into a hug, nuzzling his face into it. Life Heart smiled as Sage up drew himself up to her face and they kissed.

It was quite some time before Sage Heart released his hold on Life Heart, only relenting when she told him she was getting hungry again. The two of them sat next to their food store and ate. Silence reigned until Life Heart stood up and retrieved Miranda's Christmas present to them.

"Merry Christmas." She smiled as she sat back down and between them they unwrapped the package. Inside were a pair of Christmas sweaters with their chest symbols knitted into the fronts. Sage Heart's was striped red, white and green while Life Heart's was blue with white snowflakes scattered across it.

Sage Heart pulled his on, "It's a bit bulky." His hands stuck out of the sleeves well enough but the shirt hung down to his knees.

"Mine feels perfect." Life Heart beamed. Her sweater stretched over her baby bump and came to rest just above her waist. Both shirts covered up their chest symbols.

"You're gift to me was the most perfect." Sage Heart drew her into a hug and kissed her nose as he ran his hand over her tummy.

Life Heart giggled, "It's your present too. I didn't do this alone."

Sage Heart nodded. "Thank you."

"What?"

"For staying." Sage Heart drew her into a hug and let a few tears leak from his eyes. Life Heart blinked and then hugged him back, eyes closed she wept tears of joy.

Shards of ice fired from the outstretched bear hand of the golem and peppered the wall behind the target that had been set up for it. A purple bolt of lightning struck the golem in the back, leaving a scorch mark. "Aim, you pathetic golem!"

The golem stumbled slightly then raised its arm, conjured more ice shards and sent them flying at the target once more. Only two shards hit the edges while the rest flew wide. Another bolt to its back. "You will keep trying until you get it right!"

Life Heart lay her head back against Sage Heart's chest and listened to the sounds of spring, with her hands at rest on her pregnant tummy. Since winter she had ballooned out, her belly the size of a beach ball and her skin as taut as a drum. Sage Heart brought his hands around to rest on hers. "Soon," he whispered in her ear. "I love you."

Life Heart smiled. "I love you too." Her tummy moved slightly and Life Heart looked down, giving it a careful stroke, "I love you too, always."

Sage Heart gave her a soft kiss on the neck then nuzzled her. Life Heart turned her head and met his lips in another kiss.

"Very well, that's enough." No-Heart said. The golem was covered in burns from his lightning but it stood, unfazed. "Rest, we will continue tomorrow."

The golem fell to the ground, doing as it was told.

Life Heart stumbled out of her home into the morning sunlight clutching her swollen belly before she dropped back against the stone by the entrance. She breathed heavily then grit her teeth as she felt another contraction wrack her body. Once it passed she used what little concentration she had to magically amplify her voice and called out, "SAGE HEART!" She let the magic fade and began breathing hard again.

Sage Heart came dashing across the clearing less than a minute later, skidding to a stop next to Life Heart. "It's time," he said. "What should I do?"

Life Heart gripped his hand, "Just stay with me. It hurts… so much…" tears leaked from her eyes. "I'm scared."

"I'm here." Sage Heart winced as Life Heart squeezed his hand.

Motes of light floated around the barely moonlit clearing as Life Heart gasped in pain, squeezing Sage Heart's hand again. Life Heart started rapid breathing again. "Why is it taking so long?" Life Heart said.

"I don't know, it's different for everyone." Sage Heart said.

"Haven't you seen this before?"

Sage Heart shook his head, "Sows avoid boars once we've mated and they give birth during torpor."

Life Heart was about to speak when another contraction hit. "P-please look," she panted out. Sage Heart barely had time to crawl around to her legs before another contraction hit and on pure instinct she pushed.

Something told Life Heart the time was right and she pushed as hard as she could and was rewarded by Sage Heart saying. "I can see it!"

How long it lasted, neither of them were certain, but with each contraction Life Heart pushed as hard as she could. Finally, it stopped. There was a small flash of light as Sage Heat conjured a knife, cut the umbilical cord and a moment later Life Heart heard crying.

"It's a boy," Sage Heart whispered. He stood up and walked over to the pool to wash off their son. Life Heart felt another release as something else slid out of her. She looked down and grimaced. She was covered in sweat and the area beneath her was beyond disgusting. She used what little concentration she had to cast a simple spell to wash the sweat off herself and the mess away from her legs.

Sage Heart walked back with their now clean son in his arms and sat down next to Life Heart. Their son was a lime green bear with reddish-brown eyes and the fur on his forehead formed a dark green eight pointed star. He whimpered softly as a soft breeze blew through the clearing then reached a tiny arm up to Life Heart's chest.

"Hungry?" she asked. She took their son from Sage Heart, lifted him up to her breast and he latched on, drinking greedily of mother's milk.

"He doesn't have a symbol," Sage Heart said, placing a hand on their son's white chest.

"I think he needs a name first," Life Heart said. "What do you think?"

"You did all the work. You should name him," Sage Heart said, averting his eyes from their son.

Life Heart shifted their son to her other breast so she could hold him in one arm and drew Sage Heart's face back with her free arm, then smiled and looked back at their son. "A name like ours. Love?" she asked.

"Love Heart Bear." As the words left his lips, Sage Heart and Life Heart's chest symbols lit up and two soft beams of light flowed out, then combined on their son's chest. When the light faded it left a symbol: a large red heart with twelve smaller hearts surrounding it and three small pink hearts within the large one.

Life Heart smiled. "Yes, our son Love Heart Bear."


	4. Growing Up

Chapter 4: Growing Up

*Clack!* *Thwap!* *Whack!*

The sound of wood striking wood reverberated throughout the island. Eight-year-old Love Heart Bear stood shakily on his feet, breathing heavily and holding a wooden sword at the ready in both his hands. He faced his father, Sage Heart Bear, who held a similar sword in his right hand with a more relaxed posture.

"Don't swing so wildly," Sage Heart said as Love Heart charged and swung at him, striking at Sage Heart, who stepped back and deflected his blow. "Choose your attacks more carefully or you'll just exhaust yourself."

"OK… how about this!" Love Heart let go of his sword with his left hand, his chest symbol glowed and a second identical wooden sword appeared in his left hand. He stumbled slightly under the extra weight but regained his stance, grinning at his father.

Sage Heart squinted one eye at Love Heart, "I don't think you should try that just yet."

"Just watch me dad!" Love Heart charged forwards and swung with his right sword, which Sage Heart deflected, narrowly dodging Love Heart's slower sweep at his legs with the left sword. Love Heart darted back to avoid a counter-swipe from Sage Heart's sword then charged, crossing his arms and swing both outwards and upwards. Sage Heart sidestepped Love Heart's haymaker of a swing and carefully tapped the back of Love Heart's head with his own wooden sword. Caught off-balance, Love Heart hopped forwards on one foot, then face-planted into the dirt.

"Ow…"

"You overextended," Sage Heart let his sword dissipate and offered a hand to help his son stand, which Love Heart accepted as his own swords vanished. "If you throw heavy attacks like that you leave yourself open too much."

"OK…" Love Heart stared down and scuffed the ground with his foot.

"Hey, don't get discouraged," Sage Heart knelt down on one knee and lifted Love Heart's chin up with his hand. "You're getting better. Create your swords again." Love Heart nodded and conjured his wooden swords again. Sage Heart stepped back, "Show me how you swing them." Sage Heart's symbol glowed and he conjured a large stake wrapped with straw, stuck in the ground in front of Love Heart. Love Heart took several swipes at the target and winced slightly, nearly dropping both swords.

Sage Heart smiled, "You're still making that same mistake, here." He knelt and took Love Heart's right hand into his own. "You need to take the strain off your arm. Use more of your wrist, that's where the power and control comes from, like this." He carefully moved Love Heart's hand to show him the motions, "and grip the sword a bit tighter, there you go. Try it one more time then we can stop for the day."

"OK, here goes." Love Heart closed his eyes and took a deep breath before taking more swings at the target, this time he managed to put a dent in the straw without letting his swords go. He smiled and turned to his father, "How's that."

Sage Heart nodded, "Much better. That's enough for today." He let the target dissipate as Love Heart did the same for his swords "Now then, let's see what mom has in store for you today." Love Heart's face lit up and he started to run towards home, only to slow down as he felt a stitch in his side.

"Owowowowowow!" he sucked in air through his teeth and almost doubled over, holding his side.

Sage Heart chuckled and helped his son stand up, "Put your arms up and walk with your head held back, don't run and breathe slowly."

"OK." Love Heart did as he was told, wincing slightly as he walked back to their home.

Life Heart Unicorn sat out in front of their cave home, eating from a pile of fruit she had close at hand with her free hand resting on her swollen middle. She smiled at the approach of her son and mate then shook her head when she saw Love Heart walking with his hands behind his head, which was tilted upwards. "Overexerted yourself again?"

Sage Heart laughed, "He's enthusiastic, I'll give him that."

"Do be careful, Love Heart," Life Heart chided.

"I will, mom," Love Heart lowered his head, finally feeling the stitch pass.

"Then sit and eat, both of you." Life Heart patted the ground next to her, "You can't learn on an empty stomach."

Love Heart nodded and grabbed an apple off the pile before he sat down to eat with his parents. As they ate, he watched Life Heart, his eyes drifting towards her swollen tummy. "How much longer?" he asked.

"Less than a month, hopefully," Life Heart said as she ran her hand across her tummy. "I can't wait to meet her."

"You're sure it's a girl?" Sage Heart asked. Life Heart nodded before she popped a strawberry into her mouth.

"Will you still have time for me when she's born?" Love Heart asked.

"We'll try, but even you were a lot of work when you were a baby. It won't be forever though, I promise," Sage Heart patted Love Heart's back. "Please try not to get jealous."

"I'll try, dad," Love Heart said half-heartedly before he went back to his lunch.

OoOoO

"Beastly, step aside right now!" Shrieky tapped her foot impatiently, hands on her hips, and glaring at the brown pig-thing blocking her path down the stairs.

"B-b-but Shrieky, No-Heart said no one but him and me are allowed to go down there." Beastly protested.

Shrieky's purple hair seemed to flare as she bared her teeth, "You can go down there but _I_ can't?! That makes me wanna-"

Beastly waved his hands frantically as Shrieky drew in a breath. "N-n-no, Shrieky don't-"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Shrieky's high pitched wail sent Beastly flying away from the entrance to the stairs.

"Now then, I'm sure Uncle No-Heart will want me to help with whatever he has down there." Shrieky snickered as she descended into the basement.

Beastly picked himself off, shook his head to clear the ringing from his ears, then dashed off shouting: "No-Heart! No-Heart!"

No-Heart was seated on his throne, currently in the form of a crocodile because of Shrieky's shriek. He glowered at Beastly as he darted into the room, babbling at him. "Shrieky went down into the golem's room. I tried to stop her but-"

"She what?!" No-Heart mustered his magical might and changed back to his normal form. Beastly dove out of the way as he literally stormed past him, lightning cracking with every step he took.

Shrieky just stood, staring at the patchwork care-golem that sat before he. It stared up at her with its dull eyes. Shrieky made a face, "Eeurg! What happened to you, did those Care Bears have some sort of accident and send you here to get fixed?" It said nothing but continued to stare at her. Shrieky stomped her foot, "Did the Care Bears send you to mess up Uncle No-Heart's plans?" Again, no answer. "Alright then, I'll just dispose of you for Uncle No-Heart." She cackled and pulled out her purple, gem-topped, magic hand mirror. "Magic mirror ma-"

"SHRIEKY!" Shrieky stumbled and dropped her mirror, which promptly cracked as it hit the floor. She scrambled to pick it up as No-Heart appeared at the base of the steps. He glared down at her and for the first time in her life, Shrieky felt as though she had done something wrong. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN HERE!?" he demanded.

"I was disposing of this Care Bear that-" No-Heart cut her off.

"That is a project of mine that must _never_ , be disturbed. You are not to interfere with it, ever! Do I make myself clear, Shrieky." As he spoke, No-Heart lowered his face closer and closer to Shrieky who wilted under his stare. She tried to speak but her throat was dry so she just nodded.

"Very well. Now leave!" No-Heart pointed back to the stairwell and Shrieky ran. No-Heart turned back to the Golem. "As long as I have been brought down here, you need more practise. Stand!" No-Heart whipped lightning at the golem even as it did as it was directed. This time, the golem conjured a ball of fire and launched it at the target painted on the wall.

OoOoO

"Oh!" Life Heart jumped and put a hand on her tummy, "She kicked!"

Love Heart finished a plum and spat the pit out. "Can I feel, mom?" he asked.

Life Heart smiled, "Of course."

Love Heart scooted over to Life Heart and touched her belly. It took a moment but he felt a kick from within. Love Heart just stared, speechless as he felt.

"You'll meet her soon, but for now we should get back to your lessons." Life Heart said.

"OK," Love Heart sighed and sat back.

"Now show me your mana creation," Life Heart said.

Love Heart nodded then raised his hands in front of him, palms facing inwards. He scrunched up his face then exhaled as what appeared to be multicolored sparkly smoke and dust appeared between his palms.

Life Heart smiled, "Very good. Wait Love Heart what are you doing?"

Love Heart grit his teeth and poured more of his energy out from his hands, and yellow sparks of electricity started to jump between his hands. Love Heart screwed up his face and bared his teeth, his muscles tensing as sustained arcs of yellow lightning danced between his fingers.

"Seems he's jumped ahead," Sage Heart smirked.

Love Heart panted as he kept the arcs stable. "How'd I do."

Life Heart's eyes were wide and she had a hand over her heart, "But please don't scare me like that. I didn't think you would select an element so quickly." She smiled, "But I am proud of you. How long can you keep that up?"

"A few minutes, I think," Love Heart was already panting as he kept the electrical arcs dancing in his hand.

"Well you can stop for now," Life Heart reached out a hand and touched her son's arm. "Don't tire yourself out yet."

Love Heart nodded and let the lightning dissipate. "Now what?" he asked.

"Now you can practise magic."

Love Heart groaned.

"Now now, Love Heart, you need to practise," Life Heart chided.

"Yeah…" Love Heart sat back, crossing his legs.

"Now focus on the spell I taught you," Life Heart instructed, "And this time try to pour it into the area around you."

Love Heart stared at the ground and set his jaw. He grunted as he recited the spell words under his breath and in his head, and the eight-pointed star on his forehead lit up. Love Heart strained, forcing the magic out until a small sparkly bubble surrounded him and he stopped, causing the bubble to collapsed.

"It's alright, keep trying," Life Heart said.

"But it's hard," Love Heart whined.

"I know," Life Heart stood up with a visible effort and waddled over to Love Heart, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But keep trying. Don't force it, let it flow naturally."

Love Heart tried, for over an hour he just sat there and tired to let the magic pour out. Finally, thankfully, he managed to create a small shimmering bubble of magic surrounding him.

"There you go, good job." Life Heart patted Love Heart on his back, having taken a seat next to him as he practised. "Now look at this stone and try to lift it with your magic," she placed a pebble in front of Love Heart.

Love Heart squinted at the pebble and pointed his right pointer finger at it, trying t imagine it lifting off the ground. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he watched the pebble slowly rise off the ground, bit by bit until it hovered level with his eyes. "Wow…"

"It's basic magic but you're making good progress. Try to keep it hovering for a few minutes then we can stop for the day," Life Heart said.

"OK," Love Heart's gaze was still fixed on the stone. He tried again with a small leaf that had fallen nearby, raising it slowly up to the same height as the pebble.

Sage Heart watched Love Heart's practise curiously for a moment, then he walked over to Life Heart and helped her to stand. "So he's using lightning?" he asked, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing Love Heart's practise.

"Air actually. Electricity is an aspect of air," Life Heart replied. "But I don't think he should have tried forming an element this early." She motioned for Sage Heart to follow her way from Love Heart, leaving him to concentrate on creating a pencil sized object that looked like it was made of brittle plastic.

"I learned how in less than a year," Sage Heart replied. He waved his hand and moved a large rock over for them to sit on. "And I'm just fine." He smiled and helped Life Heart sit down.

"But… he's our son. What if he gets hurt or…" Life Heart's voice caught in her throat.

"There there," Sage Heart rubbed her back, "He's more resilient than that."

"But, I…" Life Heart stammered a bit.

"Want a hoof rub?" Sage Heart offered. Life Heart nodded. Sage Heart stood up and circled around to Life Heart's hooves. Life Heart sighed and felt herself relax as Sage Heart rubbed his hands over her sole.

"Thank you, Sage Heart, for everything." She felt herself melting as he applied more pressure to a particularly tense part of her leg.

"My pleasure."

OoOoO

Love Heart felt sick, and not like the time he played out in the snow too long three years ago and ended up lying in the cave for two weeks with a high fever. His mom had gone into labor and while he at first wanted to stay and help he swiftly regretted that decision and had run off to deposit his breakfast onto the beach shore. Now he sat on the sand, thankfully out of earshot of the cave, and stared at the ocean as the sun began to move west.

He wanted to visit the town alone. He'd tried to swim across once when he was younger and would have drowned if his mother hadn't sensed he was in danger and used her magic to pull him out of the water. Love Heart sighed and began to draw patterns in the sand with his finger. After a couple minutes of doodling he lay back and stared up at the sky. It was a calm day with barely a cloud in the sky; it would have been peaceful if he didn't know what was going on back home.

Love Heart groaned and sat up, "How long does this take?" he asked. He shook his head, not really wanting to know the answer. He stood up and created two wooden swords with his chest symbol. He swung them a couple times to loosen up his joints, then took a ready stance and began his sword practise. He didn't care for targets right now so he just swung at the air: right, left, crossed swords, up, down. Love Heart planted his feet and practised the way he swung his swords, using his wrists as Sage Heart had taught him. Arcs of lightning started to dance along his arms as he energized the energy travelling through his body, leaving small arcs of yellow lightning in his wake as he continued his practise.

As the sun began to set Love Heart tired of his practise. He dismissed the wooden swords and headed towards home. He slowed his pace as he left the beach. Unsure if he should hurry home or take his time he wandered somewhat aimlessly in the general direction of home, stopping to grab peaches from his favorite tree once his stomach started demanding food.

A loud scream caused Love Heart to jump and nearly swallow a pit, though he spat it out in time. "What the-" another scream cut him off, then silence. Love Heart shuddered and went back to his meal. Finally, as the night began to close in around him, Love Heart headed straight for home.

The outside of the cave was illuminated by several glowing mores of light. "Love Heart." Life Heart Unicorn's voice drew Love Heart's attention to where she sat. Sage Heart knelt next to Life Heart, who was holding her newborn in her arms. Love Heart approached cautiously to get a look at the child.

She looked like a pink horse with a dark pink eight-pointed star on her forehead, much like Love Heart's. On her chest there was a picture of a heart-shaped wrapped piece of white and red striped candy, and on her back were two tiny wings.

"Wings?" Love Heart whispered and carefully reached out to gently stroke the feathers with one finger.

"Her name is Sweet Heart Pegasus," Life Heart whispered.

Love Heart looked up at his mother, then to the horn on her head. "Why is she…?

"It's just one of those things that magic does, even I don't know." Life Heart chuckled.

Sage Heart put a finger to his lips, "Shhhhhh, let them rest. They had a rough day."

Love Heart nodded, stood up, yawned and headed into the cave.

Sage Heart watched him go then turned back to Life Heart, "Want any help?"

"Just to bed, I'll be fine after that," Life Heart said.

Sage Heart nodded then created a small disk of stone under her and carefully slid her into the cave. Love Heart was already asleep under his blanket, another Christmas present from Miranda. Life Heart handed little Sweet Heart to Sage Heart and then rolled under the covers. Sage Heart Carefully slipped under the covers and positioned the sleeping Sweet Heart between the two of them, her head on the pillow they had received a couple years ago.

OoOoO

Love Heart Bear was awakened by Sweet Heart Pegasus' crying. He squinched his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands, trying to go back to sleep. He could hear his parents trying to calm the child down.

Finally, Love Heart gave up on trying to sleep in the cave. He stood up, grabbed his blanket and pillow and dragged them out of the cave, mumbling nonsense under his breath and creating a small ball of light to lead the way using a simple spell Life Heart had taught him. Love Heart trekked for about five minutes before he was satisfied with the distance he put between himself and his baby sister's crying. He dropped the pillow against the trunk of a tree and shook out the blanket to get rid of the dirt it had picked up along the way. He dropped his blanket on the ground below the pillow, lay down on top of it and rolled it around himself before he finally fell asleep.

This time it was the sun that awoke Love Heart and he just pulled the side of his pillow up over his face to block out the sun. Love Heart eventually gave up, pulled the pillow off his face and unwrapped himself from his blanket. After folding his blanket, he headed for home, stopping only for a quick breakfast.

It had calmed down at the cave. Sage Heart was bathing Sweet Heart in their bathing pool as Love Heart approached. Upon seeing her big brother, Sweet Heart Pegasus giggled and reached her arms out towards Love Heart.

Sage Heart turned to see his approaching son, "Good morning. I trust you slept well."

"I did," Love Heart said. "How's mom?"

"Sleeping, right Sweet Heart?" Sage Heart asked. Sweet Heart giggled and splashed in the pool. Love Heart nodded and headed in, dropping his blanket and pillow in his usual sleeping spot. He glanced over at Life Heart, who was sleeping away under her blanket.

Love Heart sighed and headed back outside. "Hey dad, go get some sleep. I can watch Sweet Heart."

Sage Heart raised an eyebrow at his son, then turned back to Sweet Heart. "I don't think so, Love Heart. She's barely two months old and she needs constant supervision, and you can't feed her."

Love Heart opened his mouth to protest, then stopped, shrugged, and headed off. "I'm gonna go practise then," he said.

Love Heart found himself on the other end of the island before he conjured several posts wrapped in straw. He stuck them all over the grassy are then conjured his wooden swords. "Here I go!" He took his ready stance before attacking the targets with his swords. Weaving in between them, striking and dodging imagined attacks. He shot out a thin bolt of yellow lightning from his finger at one of the posts, not enough to set it on fire but enough to leave a scorch mark. He continued, making yellow electricity dance along his sword blades as he attacked the targets yet again. Love Heart only stopped for lunch, finding a plum tree and some carrots to take his meal from. He dispersed the targets and his swords and took his time to eat before heading back home.

When Love Heart arrived back at the cave he found Life Heart seated out front, nursing Sweet Heart while having her own lunch from a gathered pile of fruit and vegetables. She looked up at Love Heart and smiled, "Good morning, Love Heart. Sleep well."

"I did, did you?" Love Heart sat down across from his mother.

"Not as much as I would have liked, but enough," Life Heart admitted.

Love Heart watched as Sweet Heart finished her meal and Life Heart burped her over her shoulder. "I can help if you want to get some rest, mom," Love Heart offered.

Life Heart looked down at Sweet Heart, now sleeping in her arms, then back up at Love Heart, her brow narrowed with worry. "I… don't know. She needs constant supervision and you never know what she'll need at a moment's notice, and you can't feed her."

Love Heart sighed, "Dad said the same thing."

"I agree with him, Love Heart." Life Heart smiled, "When she gets a bit older I'll be happy to let you watch her."

OoOoO

Sage Heart Bear stood in front of his son, arms folded. "All right, Love Heart, show me what you can do.

Love Heart Bear, now 12 years old, nodded and held his hands forwards, finger spread. He took a deep breath, his chest symbol glowed and glowing beams of light began to take form in his hands. Love Heart opened his eyes and closed his fingers around the light and a pair of steel swords formed with his hands closed around the hilts.

Sage Heart whistled and Love Heart grinned. They were longswords with bronze-colored hilts shaped like open flowers and a small clear crystal embedded in each pommel. Love Heart stumbled a bit. "Heavy."

"Yes they are, but you need to get used to the weight." Sage Hearts symbol glowed and he conjured his own sword, a longsword with a simple brass-colored cross-hilt and no adornments.

Love Heart teetered on his legs for a moment before he darter forwards and took a clumsy swing at Sage Heart, which he easily deflected. "Remember the basics, Love Heart, use more of your wrists and keep a stronger grip." Love Heart and whipped one of his swords up at Sage Heart who jumped back only managing to block a sideways swipe from Love Heart.

Love Heart overextended his next swing and Sage Heart sidestepped and tapped him on the shoulder with the flat of his sword. Love Heart recovered and rounded on Sage Heart, stepping back with his sword raised to defend himself. "Too aggressive, right?" Love Heart asked.

Sage Heart smiled, "You're learning, just be careful how you swing. These are real swords."

Love Heart nodded then resumed his assault. He swung both swords sideways at his father, then jumped back when he blocked and turned into a counterattack swinging downwards. Love Heart was on the defensive as Sage Heart struck back and caught his sword in Love Heart's crossed swords. Love Heart struggled under the added pressure from Sage Heart's sword but managed to force the sword upwards, making Sage Heart stumble back.

Love Heart panted, dropped to his left knee and planted his right sword in the ground, point down. "I'm…done," he said.

Sage Heart dispersed his sword and stepped forwards to offer a hand to his son. "Tired already?" Love Heart nodded. "You'll get used to it if you keep practicing. Just be sure to put them away before…" Sage Heart blinked and couldn't react in time before Love Heart accidentally pressed the sword, blade first, onto his foot.

Love Heart cried out in pain as the blade made contact and he kicked the sword away before he started hopping around on his good foot, shouting in both pain and anger.

"Love Heart! Calm down! Let me see what you've done," Sage Heart dashed over to and caught Love Heart in mid jump. "Please be alright," he whispered.

"It hurts…" Love Heart whimpered as he reluctantly let go of his foot.

Sage Heart prepared for the worst as he reached down, only to find Love Heart's foot intact, if a little tender when he touched it. "You're fine, at least as far as I can see."

"But it hurts," Love Heart said. Then he looked down at his foot, and flexed his toes, wincing slightly. "I'm alright?"

"So it would seem. Hmm…" Sage Heart let Love Heart sit, rubbing his foot, before he recreated his own sword. He walked out of Love Heart's field of view, checked to make sure he wasn't looking just in case, then carefully pierced his left forearm. The pain was very real and he had to bite his lip to stop from crying out in pain as the sword cleanly pierced into him. But when he pulled out there was nothing: no blood, no hole, just pain. "It seems our weapons are only as lethal as they need to be," he mused. He looked back over at Love Heart.

"Huh?" Love Heart had turned to see what Sage Heart was doing.

"Our weapons can't cause any real damage, unless, perhaps, we want them to. I don't want to test it further and we should still be careful, but at least we have some safeguards built into our abilities," Sage Heart commented as he dispersed his sword. He rubbed where he had tested his sword point, "It's still very painful."

"I noticed." Love Heart finally managed to stand. He looked over to where his swords still lay and fired a white beam of light from his chest symbol at them, dispersing them back into nothing. "I'm good now and I could go for some peaches."

Sage Heart laughed, "Me too. Let's take a quick detour before we head home."

As they approached their home a high pitched voice made Love Heart jump.

"Big Brother!" Sweet Heart Pegasus came dashing across the clearing, jumping and flapping her wings to fly right into Love Heart's waiting arms.

"Sweet Heart!" Love Heart gave his little sister a big hug, "You're getting bigger every day."

"And flyin'!" Sweet Heart giggled and fluttered her wings. "I bet I can fly to the moon!"

"Not quite yet, but you'll get there," Love Heart chuckled and set her down.

"She's quite the bundle of energy," Life Heart said as she approached the rest of her family. "Welcome back. How did your training go?"

"Very good," Sage Heart nodded. He took Life Heart's hand and kissed her. They left their children to play as they headed back to the cave.

"Worried?" Sage Heart asked.

Life Heart nodded. "I know he needs to learn, but I still don't like the idea of Love Heart using real weapons, even if he's careful."

Sage Heart sighed, "I know, I worry about him and Sweet Heart too." He smiled and put his arm around Life Heart's shoulder, "But don't worry too much, I'm there to look after him and he's not as fragile as he looks."

Life Heart nodded again, "I'll try, as long as you're here to help me through all this."

"I always have been," Sage Heart kissed her and Life Heart kissed back.

OoOoO

"This way, big brother!" Sweet Heart tore passed the trees, hopping every few steps and gliding short distances when she had space.

"Hey! Wait up!" Love Heart jogged after her. "Owowow!" he sucked in air through his teeth and held his side, still not fully recovered from his training earlier. He held his head back as he slowed his pace once Sweet Heart got out from the tree cover. He still had his head up as he walked onto the beach, breathing slowly and deliberately to help his pain ease up.

When Love Heart lowered his head he saw Sweet Heart hopping from one foot to the other on the sand and pointing excitedly at the mainland. "Look! Look! People are on the beach!" she cried, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Love Heart shaded his eyes and peered out across the water, "Looks like they're having fun."

"I'm going," Sweet Heart pumped her fists and stared out across the water.

"What?! No you can't go there on your own. You can't swim that far, _I_ can't swim that far, neither can mom or dad," Love Heart shook his open palmed hands towards Sweet Heart.

Sweet Heart grinned and spread her now much bigger wings, "I can fly. Watch me!"

Love Heart was about to dive on Sweet Heart to hold her down, but hesitated, afraid he might hurt her. Sweet Heart dashed forwards and took off. Love Heart tried to chase her but only grabbed empty air when she took to the sky. Love Heart coughed some sand away from his mouth as he pushed himself up from where he lay and watched, eyes wide, as Sweet Heart flapped towards the opposing shore.

Sweet Heart flew with a wobbly trajectory as she winged towards the shore. Love Heart was practically chewing his nails as he watched her rise and fly towards the shore. "Mom! Dad!" Love Heart shouted back over his shoulder then turned back to watch his sister. Sweet Heart was struggling to keep herself airborne. She panted as her wings burned, not used to flying for so long and with nowhere to land.

Love Heart watched in horror as Sweet Heart's wings gave out and before she even hit the water he charged towards and dove into the ocean. "Hold on Sweet Heart! I'm coming!" he shouted before his head submerged. Love Heart felt an undertow pulling at his legs, but paid it no mind as he momentarily surfaced his head to catch a glimpse of pink among the waves. At least Sweet Heart hadn't gone under.

Love Heart muscles were burning by the time he reached his sister. She lifted a hand up to catch his attention before she was pulled below the surface. Love Heart took a deep breath and dove under. The salt water stung his eyes but he forced them to stay open as he spotted a pink blur ahead. He pushed forwards until his hand closed around Sweet Heart's arm. Not wanting to risk anything, Love Heart focused and managed to create a bubble of air around each of their heads.

Sweet Heart coughed inside her bubble, "Love Heart?" she aske, blinking at the distorted images surrounding her.

"I'm here, Sweet Heart, hang on," Love Heart pulled her around to his back and Sweet Heart clung on for dear life.

Love Heart surfaced and tried to swim back to shore but found his legs caught in the undertow. Love Heart grit his teeth and concentrated, only to be jostled when a wave knocked him back. Thankfully the air bubbles around their heads held together and Sweet Heart's grip around his shoulders tightened. Love Heart took a deep breath and tried to cast the spell again. The star on his forehead lit up and an aura of magic surrounded the water around him. As soon as he felt the water around him stop pulling him away from shore he struck out back to the island, putting all his strength into his strokes as long as the magic held up.

He just barely made out the voices of his parents are he neared the shore and finally felt his feet scrape the bottom. He forced his burning legs to walk up until his feet were on grass, only to feel strong arms grab him before he could fall over.

"Love Heart! Sweet Heart! What happened?" Sage Heart asked as he helped Love Heart to sit carefully down and Life Heart managed to pry Sweet Heart off Love Heart's back.

Love Heart sat there, panting heavily for a minute before he managed to speak. "Sweet Heart…tried to…fly…to the beach…fell in…swam after…" Love Heart let out a massive breath and fell backwards, completely exhausted.

As soon as she realized she was in her mother's arms, Sweet Heart hugged her tightly and buried her face into Life Heart's fur. "Mommy, I was scared."

"What were you thinking, Sweet Heart?" Life Heart asked, tears flowing from her eyes.

"I…" Sweet Heart choked on her own words.

The four of them stayed on the grass near the beach for several minutes in silence. Sweet Heart finally got up the nerve to speak again and looked over at Love Heart, who still lay back now breathing normally.

"Thank you, big brother."

"You're welcome," Love Heart managed a smiled. "You need swimming lessons though."

"No!" Sweet Heart shook her head, "Not gonna swim ever!"

"Now now, Sweet Heart," Life Heart rocked her carefully in her arms. "You should learn to swim, so next time Love Heart doesn't have to save you."

"Am I in trouble?" Sweet Heart asked.

"Yes," Sage Heart spoke up, his voice firm. "But I think you've learned your lesson for now. Love Heart's right, you should learn how to swim."

Sweet Heart said nothing as Life Heart carried her back home.

Sage Heart sat down next to Love Heart, who finally regained enough breath to push himself up into a half-sitting position.

"I'm proud of you, you saved your sister's life," Sage Heart smiled at his son.

"Yeah…" Love Heart sighed, "If I'd stopped her from taking off then she wouldn't have needed saving."

Sage Heart nodded, "Maybe that would have been better, but I guess we can say she learned not to try that again. I just hope she's not put off of flying or swimming for the rest of her life."

Love Heart managed a smile, "I wasn't after the time I tried swimming over there."

Sage Heart couldn't help a small chuckled, "Very true." He stood up, "let's go home." He offered a hand down to Love Heart, who let his father help him stand before walking home, leaning on his father for support.

OoOoO

"There you go, Sweetie, keep at it." Life Heart held Sweet Heart's arms as she kicked in the shallow water just off shore of their home. Sweetie lifted her head up to take a breath then put her face down as she kept kicking.

Love Heart and Sage Heart were sparring on the shore. Love Heart panted under the weight of his steel swords but kept going. Sage Heart found himself hard-pressed to keep up with his son, barely blocking some of his swings and his own counters being deflected by his son's swords. Love Heart finally saw his chance and turned his father's sword aside with his left and leveled his right sword at Sage Heart's chest.

"Match!" Love Heart panted, grinning as he lowered his sword.

Sage Heart smiled and dispersed his sword, "You've come a long way, son."

Love Heart kept grinning as he dispersed his own sword, "Thanks dad." He looked out at where Sweet Heart was swimming. "Two years of practise and she's still struggling."

"She's doing better than I expected," Sage Heart said as he sat down on the sand, "It took a year to even get her to go near the water."

"Yeah…" Love Heart nodded. He stepped away from Sage Heart and took a deep breath. Sage Heart watched as Love Heart gathered up his energy and electrified his arms, shooting out a bolt of blue lightning into the sky. But the electricity didn't go away, instead Love Heart generated more and surrounded his body with it. The lightning danced across his fur and became dimmer and dimmer until it vanished, yet Love Heart kept up his motions and his fur stood on end.

"Love Heart, what are you doing?" Sage Heart asked, eyebrow raised.

"Creating a mild electric field," Love Heart replied. "It takes too long to call up lightning so I'm trying to make it faster. If I can keep this field up, then I should be able to generate lightning a lot faster. Like this!" Love Heart shot off two more blasts of lightning in quick succession before he relaxed. "I gotta learn to keep it up without focusing so hard."

"Not a bad idea, just don't push yourself too hard," Sage Heart cautioned.

"I won't." Love Heart exhaled and let his field vanish then sat down with his father.

Sweet Heart finally had enough and got her mother to pull her into shore. She stumbled across the sand, panting as she strove to reach the grass.

"You're doing very well, Sweet Heart. Keep trying and you'll be swimming safely in no time," Life Heart said.

"Want me to dry you two off?" Love Heart asked.

"Yes please!" Sweet Heart shouted, spreading her soaked wings. Love Heart smiled and sent a blast of wind at Sweet Heart and Life Heart. A minute later they were dry though their fur stood on end. Sweet Heart shook her wings and whooped before collapsing on the grass next to Love Heart, wings spread underneath her.

"Feel better?" Sage Heart asked.

"Yes," Sweet Heart grinned. "Want to see my new tricks?"

"Where does she get that energy?" Life Heart asked.

"Same place I get mine," Love Heart replied. "Com'on, Sweet Heart, show us what you can do."

"OK!" Sweet Heart sat up and held out her hands. She screwed up her face and scrunched her eyes shut as she focused energy through her hands. Slowly a small clump of earth formed followed by a ball of water, a small flame, and a condensed orb of air. Sweet Heart opened her eyes and smiled. "I did it!" as she shouted, the flame went out, the air dispersed and the rock and water fell to the ground. "Oops."

"Four at once?" Life Heart's eyes went wide.

"I couldn't decide, so I just did them all," Sweet Heart beamed at her mother.

"Well… that's admirable but it will make things harder for you," Life Heart cautioned.

"I can do it!" Sweet Heart pumped her fists, "Can you show me magic too mom?" she asked.

"I can, if you think you're ready." Life Heart seemed hesitant until Sage Heart stood up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"She'll be fine. Love Heart excelled when you stopped worrying so much," Sage Heart gave her shoulder a rub. "and we'll be here if she needs help."

Life Heart exhaled some tension and nodded, "Alright. We can start tomorrow. You need to rest Sweet Heart," she added before her daughter could protest.

Sweet Heart folded her arms and pouted, puffing out her cheeks. "Fine…"

OoOoO

"At long last, after twenty years of work, it's ready." No-Heart stood over his care-golem which was covered in even more scars than when he had sewn it together. "Now at long last I will destroy the Care Bears hiding on that island. Come!" he motioned for the golem to approach him. Once it was within arm's reach, No-Heart created a tornado around both of them and they flew away.


	5. Overload

A/N: Please be honest when you review this chapter, I'm iffy about some of the events here.

Chapter 5: Overload

"Try again, Love Heart," Life Heart watched her son Love Heart Bear, who was 18, stand while facing a target some distance away. Love Heart took a deep breath and focused. His chest symbol flickered as he screwed up his face before it finally started glowing. Love Heart finally stopped after a minute and his symbol dimmed.

"Why can't I do it!" Love Heart kicked the ground, crossed his arm and glared at his symbol.

"You'll get it, just keep trying," Life Heart assured her son. She stood up next to him, though Love Heart was half-a-head taller than her now.

Love Heart turned to watch where Sweet Heart Pegasus, now 10 years old, was practising the same thing with their father. She planted her feet and stared hard at the target down range of her, before breaking into a fit of giggles, shaking her head, then concentrating just as Love Heart had. It took only a few seconds for Sweet Heart to fire off a white energy beam from her chest symbol at the target, nearly bowling her backwards only to be caught by Sage Heart, who had been standing behind her.

"You just have to get used to that, Sweet Heart," Sage Heart said as he helped her stand upright again.

"I'm almost twice her age and I still can't do it," Love Heart sighed. "Why is this so hard?" Love Heart conjured a wooden sword out of his chest symbol and swung it a couple times, "Creating things like this is so easy." He let the sword dissipate.

"It's a different skill but I know you can do this, Love Heart, here." She took her son's hand and re-oriented him to face the target. "Let's try something else. Think about the moment in your life you're the proudest of."

Love Heart thought for a minute then shuddered. "When I saved Sweet Heart from drowning," he spoke quietly, sounding somewhat ashamed.

Life Heart shuddered at the memory but smiled, "You were very brave that day, and we're all proud of you." She stepped back to give Love Heart some space. "Focus on how you felt during the whole thing and try to pinpoint when you felt the best about it."

Love Heart took a deep breath and thought back to that moment, the fear as Sweet Heart took off towards the mainland, the rush of panic as she fell, the adrenaline rush as he swam out to her, the exhaustion as he used his magic to force the water to push him back to shore, and finally the relief and pride when he dragged the both of them up to the grass. He smiled at the last thought then opened his eyes and saw his chest symbol glowing, brighter than it had before.

"There you go, now try pushing that feeling out towards the target."

Love Heart exhaled and relaxed, trying to do the same thing he'd done before. He felt the kick and stumbled then opened his eyes to see a thin beam of light shooting from his chest symbol.

"You did it!" Sweet Heart cheered, having turned to watch her brother's practise. Causing him to lose balance and fall to his back.

The beam cut off and Love Heart shook his head, panting, "Not for long though."

"But you've done it. It gets easier after the first time," Life Heart helped her son to stand. "It just takes practise."

"I think that's enough for today," Sage Heart said. "Lunch?"

"Yes!" Sweet Heart raised her hand in the air, bouncing in on her hooves.

"Definitely," Love Heart said.

OoOoO

No-Heart stood on a dark purple cloud hovering over the ocean between the island home of the Care Bear Magi and the mainland. With him was the care-golem, standing rigidly at his side. No-Heart pointed towards the island "GO! Destroy the island and kill everyone there!" The golem created a sphere of wind, lifted off the cloud and flew towards the island.

Life Heart shuddered and turned to face the direction the sudden wind had come from. Sweet Heart stopped beside her and asked, "Mom? What's wrong?"

"This wind… something's here!" Life Heart's eyes widened and she turned around, just as a fiery explosion blew down several trees and set part of the forest ablaze. Love Heart and Sage Heart whirled around to see what happened, and they saw the golem.

It had the right arm of blue bear, the right torso was that of a pink and black striped zebra, the left torso of a green and brown spotted giraffe, its left arm was a yellow hawk's wing, the right leg was a brown elephant's, the right leg a thin red deer's leg, and its head was a stitched together amalgamation of an orange wolf, purple panther, and teal rhino.

The golem raised its right hand and a ball of fire formed. Sage Heart only needed a moment before he jumped in front of his family, throwing up a wall of stone to protect them. "Run! Get off the Island!" he shouted as the fireball exploded and shattered the wall in front of them.

Life Heart was rooted to the spot with terror and it took Love Heart grabbing her arm to snap her out of it. "Mom, let's go!" he shouted before taking off. Life Heart galloped after her son, who let go of her arm as he ran. Sweet Heart was close behind them, jumping up and flying low to the ground when her short legs proved unable to keep up.

The sound of more explosions reached them as they arrived at the shore. Life Heart sat down panting as Sweet Heart landed next to her. Love Heart was bent over, hands on his knees, trying to regain his breath.

Sweet Heart stared out across the ocean and pointed at a purple robed figure standing on a dark cloud hovering over the ocean. "Who's that?"

Life Heart looked up at the figure and shuddered as she caught a glimpse of his red eyes. Memories from 20 years ago bubbled back to the surface of her memory and she wrapped her arms around herself, averting her gaze from the figure. "It's him! He tried to attacks us 20 years ago. He wants us!" Sweet Heart moved to pat her mother on the back, trying her best to smile despite the situation.

"I'm here mom," Sweet Heart said. Life Heart looked up and gave a weak smile to her daughter

Love Heart stood up and stepped forwards onto the sand. He stared down the robed figure. "Why is he waiting?"

"He can't get through the barrier," Life Heart said. "It only allows Care Bears to enter."

"So he sent that thing here," Love Heart glared out at the figure, teeth bared.

Life Heart yelped and pulled her head down as another explosion from the direction of their home caused the island to shake. A visible ring of energy poured out which made a dome-shaped barrier appear overhead. "He's trying to break it," she whispered just loud enough for her children to hear.

"What are we gonna do, mom?" Sweet Heart asked, but Life Heart said nothing. She had practically curled into a fetal position as the sounds of battle behind her grew louder.

Love Heart turned and walked towards his mother and sister. "You two stay here, I'm going to get dad."

"What?!" Life Heart raised her head, eyes wide with shock.

"Don't go, big brother!" Sweet Heart latched onto Love Heart's side, holding him back as she cried.

Love Heart carefully unlatched Sweet Heart and crouched down in front of her. "Sweet Heart, stay here and look after mom. If that man tries to hurt you, then I know you can protect her."

"B-but," Sweet Heart sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye.

"I believe in you," Love Heart smiled, "I'll be back with dad in no time, I promise."

"OK," Sweet Heart pumped her fists and flared her wings, "I can do it!"

"Thank you," Love Heart stood up and ran back towards their home.

OoOoO

Sage Heart stood among the conflagration that had been his home. The golem had wasted no time in setting fire to the forest, a fire that was spreading with each passing second. The golem was easy to predict, it raised an arm, created a ball of lightning and shot it towards Sage Heart which gave him ample time to create a stone barrier that shattered when the lightning struck it. It had gone like this for the last several minutes. While it was predictable, the golem had seemingly limitless energy. Sage Heart dove aside, managing to shake off the golem's aim as he created several shards of metal in mid air and hurled them at the golem. While a couple of the shards stuck fast most of them bounced off the golem's solid flesh.

Sage Heart dropped to one knee, holding his sword point-down in the earth and panting heavily from the heat. He watched the golem search for him before it turned to face him and raised a hand towards him. Sage Heart tried to stand and stumbled and dropped back to one knee as the golem charged for a killing strike. "At least they're safe," he said as he tried to create one last barrier to defend himself.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

A loud scream broke through the sounds of fire as Love Heart leapt into the air, assisted by a push from the wind, and rose up behind the golem, both his swords alight with lightning. The golem stopped and looked upwards in time to see Love Heart slash down at its body with both of his swords. The force of the blow sent Love Heart over the golem's head and he landed facing away from the golem. He whirled around to face it, swords at the ready.

"Love Heart?!" Sage Heart finally found the strength to stand.

"Dad! Are you OK?" Love Heart shouted back, keeping his eyes on the golem.

Sage Heart groaned, "Love Heart, why are you here?"

"I came back to save you, just hold on!" Love Heart charged at the golem, swords still crackling with blue lightning, and began to lay into the creature with both weapons. Sage Heart shook his head and couldn't help but smile at his son's bravery. The golem stumbled backwards under Love Heart's assault, despite the fact that the swords were failing to penetrate its rock-hard skin.

Love Heart grunted with each swing, striking at the golem with his electrified blades as sparks jumped off with each hit and small cracks began to spread in the blade. The golem was unable to react under the barrage of swings and was pressed back eventually slammed against a burning tree. Love Heart crossed his hands and swung outward at the golem with all his might, and both his swords snapped in half as they struck the golem's skin.

"Oh no!" Love Heart stared at the broken blades of his swords and got buffeted hard by the golem's left wing. Love Heart threw his broken weapons to the ground, as the hilts and blades dissolved back into nothing. Love Heart shot a blast of blue lightning at the golem that struck dead on but only scorched the fur on its body. Love Heart ran back to Sage Heart to help him stay on his feet.

"Why did you come back for me?" Sage Heart asked.

"So we don't have to go on without you, whoa!" Love Heart threw both of them sideways as a burning tree trunk crashed next to where they had been standing and putting a barrier between them and the golem. "I can't let you die here, what about mom and Sweet Heart? They need you, I need you!" Love Heart eyes started tearing up, though whether that was from sadness or the smoke and heat was unclear as Sage Heart was tearing up as well.

"I was trying to protect you from that thing," Sage Heart said, rubbing the water from his eyes. "It's my job to protect you!"

"I can protect you too! If I can't then what was the point of learning how to fight?" Love Heart replied. The tree split in half and the golem reappeared. Love Heart turned to face it, letting Sage Heart stand on his own. "I'm here to protect all of you, mom, Sweet Heart, and you dad!" As the golem raised its hand and began to form a large collection of razor sharp ice shards, Love Heart felt a warmth spreading through his chest. His chest symbol was glowing bright, even against the light of the fire and the death facing him.

Love Heart closed his eyes, 'Is this it?' he thought to himself, 'that feeling mom and dad told me about? What Sweet Heart says she feels when she uses her chest symbol?' He opened his eyes and stared down the golem as readied its hand to throw the shards. The light from Love Heart's chest symbol grew even brighter as he shouted words that sprung unbidden to his lips.

"CARE BEAR STARE!"

A bright blast of white light shot from Love Heart's chest symbol and hit the golem dead on, breaking its concentration and dispelling its attempt to attack him. The golem stumbled back, writhing and raising its arms to protect itself from the beam. Love Heart poured his all into the 'stare' until the golem had been pressed back, near the tree where Love Heart had broken his swords. Love Heart panted as the stare faded and turned back to his father, who was staring at his son, mouth wide in surprise.

"I did it!" Love Heart jumped in the air, fist raised in triumph

"Celebrate later, we have to go!" Sage Heart shouted.

"OK, let's-" Love Heart was cut off by a groan from the golem.

Father and son turned to face the golem which was standing and staring at its hand and wing. The dead glassy look had left its eyes and it was now staring at itself in shock. It turned where it stood, looking over its entire body before it looked towards the two bears, eyes full of hurt, anger and confusion.

"What happened to me?" the golem spoke in a raspy voice, coming from vocal chords that had never been used. Neither Love Heart nor Sage Heart knew what to say but a burning tree branch fell and struck the golem on the head, and it flinched.

"What am I? What's all of this?! What's going on!" The golem shouted as energy began to gather around it's body.

"Oh no! Hold on!" Sage Heart summoned up the last of his strength and pulled a disk of stone from the ground underneath him and his son. Love Heart almost fell off as the disk sped towards the shore.

Love Heart was on his hands and knees, holding the edge of the disk as it hurtled towards the shoreline. "What's going on!?" he shouted as they raced past where the fire had reached.

"I don't know, but if something that powerful is having an emotional meltdown then we don't want to be near it when it happens!" As the beach came into view Sage Heart shouted, "Life Heart! Sweet Heart! Jump!"

Life Heart and Sweet Heart whirled around in time to see Sage Heart and Love Heart come blasting towards them on the stone disk. Sweet Heart reacted faster and grabbed her mother around the waist, using all her wing power to lift them just enough to let Love Heart grab them as the disk changed from stone into a wooden raft and they landed on the water, skidding outwards towards from their home shore.

A moment later, a loud explosion ripped through the island, scattering burning trees stone and other debris everywhere. Life Heart barely had the time to create a magical shield to protect them from the rain of their former home as she watched the barrier around the grove shatter into nothing behind her. "Out home…" she whispered. There was almost nothing left, just a few rocks poking out of the sea where an island had once stood.

"So it seems my golem did its job." The four of them turned to face the purple robed figure, who was standing on his cloud only a few meters from where they floated. "And now I will finish it. You will die at the hands of No-Heart!"

Purple lightning lanced down from No-Heart's fingers, shattering the barrier around them. Love Heart did his best to stand on the raft despite the rough water and shot blue lightning at No-Heart from his fingers. No-Heart didn't even flinch as the lightning struck him and he glowered at them. "You are pathetic!" he hurled more lightning at the raft. Love Heart stepped forwards doing his best to deflect the bolts with a barrier of electricity, only to be knocked flat onto his back.

"Leave my family alone!" Something in Sweet Heart snapped and she took to the air, flying up to face No-Heart head on.

"No! Sweet Heart don't!" Life Heart called out after her, trying to magically pull her back to the raft. Something impeded her however and her magic couldn't get a grip on her daughter.

The eight-pointed star on Sweet Heart Pegasus' head had lit up as she flew at No-Heart, flying up to avoid a lightning bolt and throwing a fireball at the wizard. No-Heart raised a hand to block the fire, only to be hit in the stomach by a solid blast of air followed by a heavy basketball sized ball of mud to his face, knocking him off his cloud. Sweet Heart whooped as he fell but stopped when she saw No-Heart turn into a giant vulture.

"You have more power than I expected, but you are too young and weak to stop me!" No-Heart flew straight at Sweet Heart and struck at her with his beak, which knocked Sweet Heart for a loop. Sweet Heart steadied herself and flew back to avoid another strike from No-Heart's beak. Sweet Heart created a stream of air in front of her and shot a blast of flame into it, creating a brilliant purple stream of purple flames that engulfed No-Heart.

No-Heart screeched and changed back into his true form, his robes smouldering. He reached out and grabbed Sweet Heart by her neck as a new cloud formed under his feet. "You are becoming an annoyance!" he shouted as he tightened his grip. He stared for a moment at the glowing eight-pointed star on Sweet Heart's head as she struggled in his grip. "So you're that unicorn's offspring." He turned his gaze back to the raft where Sweet Heart's family was struggling to keep the raft close to him.

Love Heart glared right back at No-Heart's eyes as he charged up more lightning around himself. "Let my sister go!" He shouted.

"So you are as well," No-Heart turned back to Sweet Heart. "I will not let this bloodline spread!" He raised his opposite hand and prepared to finish off the pink pegasus.

"NO!" Love Heart managed to let off a bolt of lightning, but it flew wide of No-Heart. Love Heart shook his head to clear the blurriness from his vision. "One last chance," he glanced briefly down and his chest symbol and recalled the vivid memory of facing down the golem. His symbol lit up and he grit his teeth towards No-Heart, "Care Bear Stare!"

"What?!" No-Heart turned just in time for the beam of white light to fly up and strike his raised right hand, burning his flesh and shorting out the spell he was creating. No-Heart bellowed as his left hand shot to grip his right, trying to tear the searing pain from his skin.

Released from No-Heart's grip, Sweet Heart cried out. The light from her birthmark lit up brighter along with her chest symbol and her pupils shrank to tiny pinpricks as she charged at No-Heart, who turned just in time to see Sweet Heart swing a punch at his face with a fist covered in solid stone. No-Heart was sent reeling by the hit and had no time to react as a torrent of water blew down on him. No-Heart whirled around to see a now berserk Sweet Heart charging at him and he threw a bolt of lightning, which went right through her, dissolving the illusion. A ball of magma crashed down on No-Heart's head and he bellowed in pain, turning into a tornado and scattering the now cooled lava around him. The re-eyed tornado now moved to consume Sweet Heart, but found a barrier surrounding her that pushed the wind away. Sweet Heart let out a cry that sounded like a horse's panicked whinny as fire and water erupted from her hand, created a scorching hot cloud of steam that got sucked into his whirlwind. No-Heart roared as the steam burned him even in his whirlwind form and he was forced to pull away from Sweet Heart.

Through the haze of her rage Sweet Heart saw No-Heart attempting to flee and shouted, "CARE COUSIN CALL!" as a bright white beam of light shot from her chest symbol, striking the tornado as it fled. Sweet Heart tried to give chase, but the haze faded from her vision and the light from her birthmark and chest symbol faded as she lost consciousness and fell towards the sea.

"Sweet Heart!" Love Heart and Sage Heart were about to dive into the ocean to swim out to Sweet Heart, only for a whoosh of air to blow past them. They watched as Life Heart Unicorn flew towards her falling daughter with her horn aglow as she directed her magic towards Sweet Heart, slowing her descent and giving the unicorn time to get under her and catch her less than two meters from the rolling ocean's surface.

Life Heart turned and floated back to the raft, her unconscious daughter in her arms. "Just rest my little Sweet Heart, you did very well." In spite of herself she couldn't help but smile.

"Is she alright?" Sage Heart tried to check over his daughter, but stumbled and fell back to the raft having forgotten just how tired he was.

"What happened?" Love Heart asked, slumped down and barely able to move.

"She's just exhausted and I think her emotions overloaded, like what happened with me when we first met, dear." She smiled at Sage Heart, "But with more aggressive results." Life Heart turned her magic to the raft and guided it towards the mainland.

As they approached closer, all three of them gaped at the sight that greeted then. Along the beach a crowd had gathered. All the people were staring and most of them were cheering, having been alerted by the explosion on the island and also witnessing the entire battle between the Care Bear Magi and No-Heart. Life Heart's pride was immediately replaced with embarrassment as a pair of lifeguard waded up and helped pull the raft up to the beach.

"That was so cool! Lightning, Fire and Magic!"

"Can you do more tricks like that?"

"Who was that?"

Questions and comments from the onlookers poured in until Life Heart shouted. "Stop!" her magically amplified voice quickly silenced the crowd. Life Heart blushed slightly, "I'm sorry but we're exhausted. Is there somewhere we can rest?"

"You can come to my house."

Life Heart blinked then smiled as Miranda stepped forwards from the crowd. She had aged, had a few grey hairs and a few age lines on her face but Miranda was very much the same as Life Heart remembered her.

"Is that little Sweet Heart Pegasus?" Miranda asked upon seeing who Life Heart was carrying. "What happened?"

Life Heart looked down at her still unconscious daughter in her arms, "It's a lot to say here."

"I understand, here let me carry her," Miranda extended her arms and Life Heart passed Sweet Heart to her. The crowd parted to allow Miranda to lead the Care Bears away from the shore with Sage Heart and Love Heart supporting each other's weight as they walked. Two people rushed to pull their crude raft to shore, only for it to dissolve into nothing as they tried to grab it.

"What the?" one of them turned to the other, who just shrugged. After what they had seen today this didn't really surprise him.

OoOoO

Sweet Heart had been laid down on Miranda's guest room bed and Love Heart followed suit, falling asleep as soon as he collapsed onto the bed. After they made sure the two were undisturbed, Miranda, Life Heart and Sage Heart retired to the living room.

Sage Heart yawned and slumped back on the couch next to Life Heart. "Are you worried about Sweet Heart too?" he asked.

Life Heart nodded, "I am. I didn't think she could do something like that, what if the same thing happens to Love Heart?"

Sage Heart put a hand on Life Heart's shoulder, "I know what you mean, but we should still be proud. They saved our lives today because of what we taught them."

Life Heart smiled and removed her hand from her heart to take Sage Heart's hand in her own, "You're right. I am proud of them."

"But what happened? What was that thing that attacked you?" Miranda asked, seated across from them in her armchair.

"He said his name was No-Heart," Life Heart said. "He knew we were Care Bears and said he wanted to kill us," Life Heart shuddered and leaned up against Sage Heart.

Sage Heart nodded, "He sent this strange Care Bear golem to destroy our home and it… exploded after Love Heart attacked it."

"That explains the explosion," Miranda sat back. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," Life Heart shook her head. "Our home is gone and I don't know how to live in the human world."

"We need to find the Care Bear Family," Sage Heart said. Life Heart looked over to him and he smiled, "The Great Wishing Star said we were supposed to join and protect them. After what we did against No-Heart I think we can protect them just fine."

"But how do we find them?" Life Heart asked, "The Great Wishing Star never told us where they are."

"Umm… good question," Sage Heart yawned again as he felt his eyes drooping.

"Actually I've heard more about the Care Bears recently," Miranda said. Life Heart looked over to her, "The Care Bears sometimes appear to help children in need. You might have a good chance of finding them if you went to a larger city."

"It's a start at least," Life Heart said. "Where do we go."

"I can give you a ride to the nearest city if you like, but after that you're on your own. I have roots too deep to move away from here," Miranda said.

"Thank you, Miranda," Life Heart smiled.

Sage Heart yawned again as he slumped back into the couch, "Thank you. I need to tuurnzzzz…" Sage Heart's eyes drooped closed and he fell back against the backrest of the couch, snoring.

"Oh dear," Life Heart smiled. "I hope you don't mind if we sleep out here."

"You can have my bed," Miranda offered.

Life Heart shook her head, "No, we can't. We've slept in a cave for the last 20 years, this will be fine." She carefully pushed Sage Heart over and propped a pillow under his head.

"What about you?" Miranda asked.

"I can stay up a while longer. Can I help you with anything?" Life Heart asked.

Miranda smiled, "You can help me plan for your trip."


	6. The Real World

Sweet Heart Pegasus stirred, stretched her arms and wings and yawned as she rolled over on an unfamiliar bed. She looked around and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Where huh?" she mumbled.

"Looks who's finally awake," Love Heart Bear was sitting on a chair nearby, a book in hand entitled The Secret Garden. "Rise and shine."

"Big brother, where are we?" Sweet Heart sat up and shook her head to clear the cobwebs from her thoughts.

"Miranda's house," Love Heart stuck a bookmark in his page and closed the book, "you've been asleep since our fight with No-Heart."

"No-Heart?" Sweet Heart struggled to remember, and then it all came rushing back: The golem destroying her home, No-Heart trying to kill them, her flying off to confront him and then anger taking over her senses as she blasted him with all the elemental power and magic she could. Sweet Heart folded her wings around herself and hugged her arms, "What did I do?"

Love Heart stood up and walked over to the bed, taking a seat next to his sister. "Mom said it's because we're half-unicorn that your emotions overwhelmed you and you went a little berserk so you started pouring everything you had into him. You really let him have it," Love Heart grinned, then frowned as he watched Sweet Heart curl up into herself.

"It wasn't a dream, I was just so mad I couldn't think and I… I was so scary." Sweet Heart's eyes trembled as she began to cry.

"Hey hey, don't cry," Love Heart put an arm around Sweet Heart and felt her tremble, "You saved our lives, sis, don't be ashamed."

Sweet Heart said nothing, just rocking back and forth where she sat. Love Heart gave her a worried look, then hugged her, "Don't worry, I'm here for you and so are mom and dad, they're just busy with Miranda right now."

"But what if I do that again? I don't want to do anything like that ever again," Sweet Heart shook her head.

Love Heart smiled, "You won't I don't think anything else could make you that mad." He lightly tapped her chin with his knuckles, "Give me a smile, show me the little sister who always brightens up my day."

Sweet Heart did her best to smile and uncurled her wings, folding them up on her back as she let her legs dangle over the edge of the bed. "I'll try. So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Well," Love Heart scratched his chin, "We wait for mom and dad to get back then we're going on a trip."

"A trip? Where?" Sweet Heart asked.

"To find the rest of the care bears," Love Heart pumped his fist, "Mom and dad think if we go to a big city we could run into them and they can take us to our new home."

"Really? Where is our new home?" Sweet Heart was bouncing in place.

Love Heart hummed and thought hard about the question, crossing his eyes as he tried to think. Sweet Heart giggled as his funny expression, falling backwards onto the bed. Love Heart smirked and lay back next to her, "Who knows, but we're going there and then we can do what we were always supposed to do: defend the Care Bear Family form evil."

Sweet Heart's giggling stopped and her face fell, "Like No-Heart?" she whispered.

Love Heart nodded, "Yeah, but hey it won't be that bad. We'll have tons of friends to help us out and after what we did I don't think No-Heart's gonna be back for seconds anytime soon." Love Heart sat up and slid off the bed onto the floor, "Com'on, we still have time to look around town before we have to go."

Sweet Heart nodded and smiled, sliding off the bed, "OK!"

Chapter 6: The Real World

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

A sandy yellow furred hand reached out from the bed and swung around on the bedside table, searching for the snooze button. After another minute of skull pounding alarm noises the owner of the arm sat up. She was a sandy yellow fennec fox with green eyes and long hair the same color as her fur that was a tangled matted mess of a bedhead. Her huge ears twitched as she scanned the room, finally spotting the glow of the alarm clock on the other side of the room on the desk alongside her laptop and school binders.

She yawned as she slid out of bed and trundled over to the alarm clock, pushing the "off" switch. "Who moved my alarm clock across the room?" she grumbled as she scratched several itchy parts of her body.

"I did, squirt, so you wouldn't smash it like the last one." The rough voice drew the fennec's attention to the door, where a young adult man with short black hair, sharp brown eyes and wearing a dark blue business suit and red with a pale green striped tie stood in the doorway.

She scowled, "Don't call me squirt, Terrence, and don't come in before I'm dressed."

"Right, like you suddenly care if anyone sees you naked," Terrence rolled his eyes, "Just hurry or you'll be late again, Cassandra."

Cassandra stuck her tongue out at her older brother as he left the doorway. She shook her head then went through her morning stretch routine in front of the mirrors on her closet doors: touching her toes, leaning her arms behind her back, stretching her arms sideways, lunging with her legs, pulling her legs up behind her back and twisting her head a few times before she was satisfied.

The hot shower water was the last shock Cassandra needed to finish waking up and she sighed contentedly. She always used too much shampoo but then again she not only had all her fur to clean but her own long hair that hung past her shoulders. After about ten minutes, including time to condition her hair, Cassandra stepped out of the shower and grabbed the huge fluffy green towel off the rack which seemed a bit too big for her with her height, Cassandra being roughly three quarters to four-fifths the height of most of her peers, but necessary to get most of the water out of her fur. Once she was reasonably dry she grabbed the brush and comb off the counter and set about the task grooming her hair.

Cassandra had thought about cutting her hair short several times over the last nine years, especially once it started becoming a tangled rat nest every morning. After a while she decided she liked having long hair so she started taking care of it properly, learning to tie it off in a large braid when she wanted it out of the way. She winced as the brush caught a tangle and she carefully pulled it out, trying not to rip the hairs out of her head. Five minutes later she set the brushes down and ran her hands through her hair, letting it cascade down her back and shaking it just a bit to let it settle more naturally. Satisfied, Cassandra skipped back to her room to get dressed.

White undergarments, an orange t-shirt, black socks, and blue jeans with a hole cut in the back to accommodate her tail (something that her mother had to cut and sew into all of her pants). Cassandra stretched a bit to let the clothes settle better then grabbed her school binders, stuffed them into her backpack and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Took you long enough," Terrence commented as he took a sip from his coffee. "Mom and dad left already."

"That's fine," Cassandra grabbed a box of cereal and poured some out, added milk then dug in without bothering to sit down.

"If you took less time in the shower you wouldn't have to rush every morning." Terrence set his empty coffee mug down.

"Says the guy who doesn't have a body full of fur and long hair to take care of," Cassandra smirked as she gulped down the last of her cereal.

"Maybe try getting up earlier, squirt," Terrence stood up and grabbed his car keys out of the bowl on the counter.

"Stop calling me squirt," Cassandra snapped as she headed for the door.

Terrence watched his little sister as she strapped on her knee, elbow and forearm pads, stuffed her sneakers into her backpack, pulled on and laced up her roller blades, and finally pulled the helmet onto her head, pushing her ears through the holes cut into the helmet then headed out the door and took off down the street.

"Be careful!" Terrence called as he climbed into his old junker of a car and headed for work.

Cassandra rolled down the sidewalk with a force in her skates, feeling the wind in her hair and ears. She spotted two guy in business suits climbing into her dad's car just ahead and grinned. She skated down onto the street itself and waved to her dad as she rolled past the driver's side window, nearly bowling into one of the other men without even breaking her stride.

"Who or what was that?" the man asked as he picked himself up off the ground.

"You're new right? That was my daughter, Cassandra," her father smiled as he watched her roll away.

"Your daughter Avalon? But she's not… I mean…"

"She's adopted dumbass," the third man said from the front passenger seat.

Cassandra ventured a look upwards at the trees. The leaves were already many shades of red, yellow and orange, some falling as she rolled past. She smiled and sighed as a cool breeze added to the wind from her skating speed, this was always her favorite part of the morning.

Cassandra risked a glance at the watch she had tied to her backpack strap and gaped, "Crap, gonna be late, better take a shortcut!" She bent low and grabbed at a parking meter to help her make a sharp turn down an alley. She grumbled, "I hate to admit it but Terrence it right, I gotta get up earlier.

She looked up and skidded to a halt, stopping a few meters away from three men in their mid-20s who barred her path.

"Well well, what have we here?" one asked, then blinked and looked closer at her, his eyes drifting down to her chest, "Seriously, what do we have here? Definitely a girl but what is she?"

"Who cares," one of the others slapped the first man on the back of his head then leered at Cassandra. "She's down our alley so she's ours to have fun with."

"Wonder what we should do with her first, I mean…"

Cassandra had her arms folded and was tapping the front wheels of her right skate against the ground, her big ears twitching as she caught their whispered conversation, something a lot of people thought they could get away with until they knew her. "Hey!" she shouted, catching their attention, "As much fun as it is can you move it! I'm gonna be late for school."

"Shut up, bitch! We're discussin'," one with a particularly thick accent said.

"Yes, I can hear every word your saying. You're monsters and I don't care so just let me through!" Cassandra, moved into a ready stance as she watched their reaction.

"I said, shut up!" one of the men closed the distance, moving to slap her across the face. He only struck air as Cassandra dropped and swung her roller-blade covered foot at his legs, knocking him off his feet with a crack of plastic on foot.

"There, now are you gonna let me through? Ack!" she felt a tug on her hair, one of the gang had been waiting where she entered the alley and had grabbed her hair from behind as the others closed in.

"Now hold still, he's gonna-" he didn't get anymore words out as he felt a very painful *whack* between his legs, where Cassandra has swung her leg back and struck him in his sweet spot. He made a high pitched whine and fell to the ground.

"Gotcha!" another ran forwards and grabbed at Cassandra's right wrist around the guard. "Now hold still until we decide what to do."

"No chance!" Cassandra's left fist fired into his windpipe before he had a chance to blink and he fell backwards, struggling to breath and holding his throat.

"Dirty trick." Cassandra heard a higher pitched voice behind her before the once behind her had somehow recovered and pulled his arms under hers.

"Let me go!" Cassandra demanded.

"Hah, can't get out of a full-nelson can you?" he gloated, his voice dropping back to a normal pitch.

"That's a weak nelson," Cassandra still had her legs on the ground and twisted forwards. The man yelped as his legs left the ground and Cassandra grabbed an arm, lifting him up then slamming him hard on top of the man whose legs she had kicked out earlier.

Cassandra looked up at the last man ahead of her who just stared for a moment, the turned and ran. Cassandra growled, backed up a couple paces then took off, using the downed gang members as a pain filled springboard and skating towards the fleeing member, only to jump off an overturned trash can and bounce off his shoulders sending him painfully to the ground. She hit the ground running on the other side of him and swore. "Shit, I'm really gonna be late!"

Cassandra burned a trail down the street as she finally pulled into the front of her high school. She weaved between the other late-comer students and up the wheelchair ramp, stopping only to take her rollerblades off and pull on and lace up her shoes. She charged down the hall towards her locker, pulled off her knee, elbow and forearm pads as she went. She skidded to a halt in front of her locker, muttering under her breath as she twisted the combination to her locker, then tossed her rollerblading equipment into the locker and removed her helmet. She pulled out her school binders and ran to her first period class.

"Made it!" Cassandra swerved as she entered the class and swung into her seat, panting slightly. Everyone stared at her as the class bell rang then turned their attention to the teacher at the front of the classroom. The teacher just rolled her eyes and sighed before turning to the chalkboard.

Cassandra opened her binder, "Just one more year," she muttered as she started taking notes.

OoOoO

Miranda's car pulled over at the park near the edge of the city, "Here we are." She said, unlocking the doors for her friends. Sage Heart Bear, Life Heart Unicorn, Love Heart Bear and Sweet Heart Pegasus stepped out.

Sweet Heart shielded her eyes and looked towards the taller building at the center of the city. "Wow, they're so tall." She flapped her wings, levitating up just enough to get a better look.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Life Heart asked looking through the driver's side window where Miranda still sat.

Miranda shook her head, "Sorry but I don't like to leave home for long. Good luck and stop by for a visit if you ever come back."

"We will. Goodbye." Life Heart stepped back and waved as Miranda drove away.

"Bye!" Sweet Heart called as she waved after the car.

"So what do we do now?" Love Heart looked at his parents.

Sage heart felt his stomach gurgle, "Let's get some food. There should be a restaurant around here."

"Yes, we should," Life Heart nodded.

OoOoO

Cassandra went through her warm up stretches in the gym, having changed out of her normal clothes and into one of the outfits she kept in her gym locker: a white loose-fitting karate gi with a black belt tied around her waist and no shoes or even socks.

"You know there's no wrestling practise today right?" Cassandra looked up at a passing male teammate of hers.

"Yeah, but I need a workout and I don't have gym equipment at home," Cassandra said.

"What's with the bathrobe?" he pointed at Cassandra's outfit.

Cassandra smirked, "It's a karate gi." She flipped her hair back over her shoulder and started to weave her hair together; by the time she reached the weight room she had tied her hair off in a long braid.

Cassandra went over to a punching bag, took a deep breath and took a fighting stance. Cassandra laid into the punching bag, timing her punches to hit when it swung back after she struck it. Cassandra dodged aside when the bag swung back at her and kicked out at it, side-stepping to avoid being struck by the swinging bag. She kept this up for half-an-hour, working up a fair sweat. Cassandra swiped her brow and headed for the showers, undoing her braid and letting her hair fall back to its normal straight appearance.

Cassandra stepped out of the shower and shook her fur out, feeling very refreshed as she pulled on her regular clothes and folded her gi back up into her gym locker. She smiled at the full-size locker, one of the benefits of being on a sports team.

OoOoO

"Hey, Cassandra! Is there a family reunion in town?" Cassandra was sitting on the front steps to the school strapping on her roller blades when she heard her classmate's voice and turned towards him.

"What?!" Cassandra glared at the boy as she finished lacing up her skates and stood up.

"I saw a bunch of colorful animals like you downtown at lunch today." He laughed, "maybe you should-" Cassandra took off on her roller blades, not bothering to listen any further. She had to see, maybe someone else saw them downtown!

Twenty minutes later Cassandra was panting as she coasted to a stop in front of the mall entrance. She slumped onto a stone bench in order to catch her breath.

"Look, another one." Cassandra's ear twitched as she heard the woman's voice and she turned to see a pair of women whispering to each other, thinking she couldn't hear them.

"It's looking this way. Did it hear us?" the other woman whispered.

"Yes I heard you!" Cassandra's shouted caused a bunch of passers by to stop and stare as she stood up. No bothering to skate closer Cassandra continued to shout at them, "Where did you see the other 'things' like me!?"

"In-in the park," the first woman pointed towards the large area full of grass that trees in the middle of the downtown area.

Cassandra smirked, "Thanks!" She turned and skated towards the park. The two women watched her go, then returned to their own business.

It didn't take long. Cassandra was barely a quarter of the way through the park when she spotted the four animals eating while sitting on the grass next to a path: an iridescent blue bear, a moss green horse- no, that was a horn, unicorn, a young pink… were those wing? Pegasus?, and a lime green bear older than the pegasus but younger than the unicorn and other bear. Cassandra just stood and watched for a moment then took a deep breath and skated slowly in their direction.

Sweet Heart Pegasus finished her sandwich and looked up to see someone approaching them on roller blades. "Look! A care bear bunny!" she pointed towards Cassandra.

Cassandra's face twitched and she stopped right next to the group, "Hey! I'm not a bunny, I'm a fox!"

"Then why are your ears so big?" Sweet Heart tilted her head to one side.

"I'm a _fennec_ fox," Cassandra took a deep breath and grit her teeth, trying not to explode at the kid.

The rest of the turned to see Cassandra, wearing her bright red arm, knee and elbow pads, black helmet and standing on the path with her skates. Now that she was closer she could see more clearly that none of them were wearing clothes, not that it mattered for the sake of decency, and each of them had a tattoo over their chests: the blue bear had a heart made from rainbow colored dust, the unicorn a tree with red heart-shaped fruit, the pegasus had a wrapped piece of heart shaped red- and white striped candy, and the green bear had a large red heart with three smaller pink hearts inside it and surrounded by a dozen smaller pink hearts.

Sage Heart stood up, turned to face Cassandra and held his hand forwards. "My name is Sage Heart Bear. It's very nice to meet you."

Cassandra snerked a bit but took his hand, "Cassandra Avalon," she shook his hand. Sage Heart stumbled a bit, surprised as how strong Cassandra's grip and shake were. "So who are the rest of you?" she asked, looking down at the other three.

Sage Heart stepped over to the unicorn and helped her to stand. "This is my wife, Life Heart Unicorn."

"Hello," Life Heart's voice was barely above a whisper, "Forgive me but, I'm not used to being out in the open so much."

"I'm Sweet Heart Pegasus!" The pink pegasus flapped her wings and literally flew up to Cassandra's eye level, as she was still the shortest of the five.

The green bear stood up and carefully pulled the pegasus back, letting her land next to him. "And I'm Love Heart Bear… what's wrong?" Love Heart narrowed one eye at Cassandra, whose face was strained, her mouth and cheeks quivering.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man are you serious!" Cassandra stumbled over to a tree, stumbling over the grass with her skates, and leaned up against it while she held her sides, unable to contain her laughter, "HAHAHAHA! Love Heart? Sweet Heart? You sound like a bunch of kiddie theme park mascots HAHAHAHAHA!" Cassandra slumped back against the tree, trying to get her laughter under control.

Sweet Heart couldn't resist giggling along with their guest, Sage Heart just gave a perplexed stare and Life Heart blushed and averted her gaze. Love Heart narrowed his eyes at Cassandra and stepped in front of her, "Just what's wrong with you? Why are our names so funny?!" he stomped his foot with the last word as he glared at her.

Cassandra wiped some tears from her eyes and raised her head to look Love Heart in the eye. "Hee hee, sorry it's just, Love Heart, *snrk* what kind of name is that? Does it have something to do with that funny tattoo on your chest? Aren't you and, heehee, Sweet Heart too young for thahahat!"

"Mom and dad named us, and gave us our chest symbols!" Love Heart jabbed his right thumb at the symbol on his chest and pointed his left arm at Life Heart and Sage Heart, index finger extended.

"Chest symbols?" Cassandra giggled slightly but managed to finally stop shaking long enough to stand up straight. "Still doesn't explain why you had to get pec tattoos," she prodded Love Heart's symbol with her finger.

Love Heart took a step back from the fennec, out of her reach, "So I can do this." Love Heart turned, his chest symbol glowed white and a white beam of light fired off, striking a nearby tree, leaving no mark but creating a shower of hearts and stars where it struck for an instant.

Cassandra's jaw dropped and she turned back to Love Heart, "How did you do that?!"

"I can do this too!" Sweet Heart held up her hands and created a small flame out of thin air.

"Sweet Heart! No fire in the park!" Life Heart stepped forwards into her daughter's line of sight.

Sweet Heart immediately let the fire go out, "Sorry mom…" she scraped the grass with a hoof.

Life Heart took Sweet Heart's shoulders in her hands and dropped to one knee in front of her. "Fire is very dangerous in places like this, we don't want anyone getting hurt."

"So what, are you two adopted?" Cassandra asked, looking from Love Heart, to Sweet Heart and Life Heart then finally to Sage Heart.

Sage Heart shook his head and smiled, going to stand with Life Heart as she stood up. "No, I can assure you that Love Heart and Sweet Heart are our very own children."

Cassandra shook her head and her face shifted through several faces of confusion and bewilderment, which made Sweet Heart burst into childish giggles again. "But, you're a unicorn," she pointed to Life Heart and Sage Heart, "and a bear, how are you two even… compatible?" she formed Vs with both of her index and middle fingers and pressed them into each other, "And why does she have wings instead of a horn and…" Cassandra held her head, trying to sort out the confusing images, and a couple gross ones her questions conjured up.

"Magic just reacts strangely sometimes," Life Heart said, "And believe me, I know for a fact that they are my children, I remember their births vividly."

"And there's this," Love Heart pointed to the dark green eight-pointed star on his forehead, "This is a unicorn star, it shows that my mom's a unicorn."

"I have one too!" Sweet Heart pulled her longer bangs aside to show off her dark pink eight-pointed star, though her bangs barely covered the top points.

Cassandra shook her head, trying to clear the confusion from her brain, and stepped back onto the pavement. She spun in place for a moment then turned back to face the family, "OK new question: What are you? and for that matter what am I? Why do I look like one of you?"

Life Heart smiled, "That's easy, you and I and all of us are Care Bears."

Cassandra rolled then hooded her eyes, arms folded, "Bears? Hate to point this out but only two of you are bears, I'm a fennec fox."

"It's a general term, I believe you are what's called a Care Bear Cousin, or if you're part of our little group then you're a Care Bear Magi," Sage Heart said.

Cassandra held up a hand between them, "Whoa whoa slow down! What's all of this about?"

"It's a bit of a story, but we can tell you if you like," Life Heart extended a hand towards Cassandra, palm upwards, in offering.

"Alright, but…" Cassandra looked down at the watch she had attached to her backpack strap and checked the time. "I should get home before it gets too late. Tell me as we walk." She turned and started to skate away.

"Wait!" Love Heart started jogging to keep up with her, "How can we keep up with you with those wheels on your feet?"

Cassandra spun around and slowed her speed, smirking as Love Heart caught up to her, "I'll go slow for you, or skate in circles if I have to. And they're called roller blades. What? Were you raised in a cave?"

"Actually yes, I was," Love Heart replied, which only made Cassandra burst out laughing again.

OoOoO

Cassandra rolled along at a leisurely pace as she listened to the family of colorful animals relate their story to her, along with what little they knew about the Care Bear Family. They were almost to her house when Cassandra finished digesting the information.

"So you're supposed to protect them from things like that No-Heart person?" she turned and let her momentum carry her backwards while facing the four of them.

Sage Heart nodded, "But first we need to find more of us and get to the rest of the Care Bear Family."

"Uh-huh," Cassandra nodded, "So I'm one of you then? A Care Bear… Care Fennec?" she scratched her chin.

"We are called the Care Bear Magi," Life Heart said.

"And you have to be one, I mean look at your nose," Love Heart pointed at Cassandra's nose.

Cassandra slowed to a stop next to a parked car and bent over to look at her her reflection in the side view mirror. She had noticed the oddly valentine heart shaped tip of her nose before but had always dismissed it as a birthmark and nothing else, but now? She looked back at the group walking with her and they all had the same valentine heart shape on their nose too. She stood back up and sighed then started rolling down the street towards her house again.

"Well, we're here." Cassandra held out an arm to the front of her house. The front lawn was fairly large and four windows on the front of the house, which was covered in grey vinyl siding and there was a cobblestone path leading up to the front door. "How do I break this to them," she muttered as she skated up to the front door, then sat on the short step to undo her skates.

"Is something wrong?" Life Heart asked.

Cassandra stood up and sighed, holding her rollerblades in one hand. "Just wait here until I introduce you." She turned and opened the door to the house.

Cassandra's ears twitched as she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. "Mom! Dad! Terrence! I'm home!"

"In the kitchen, Cassandra!" her mother's voice called back.

"What kept you?" Terrence stepped into the living room.

"I went downtown and met some friends," Cassandra took a deep breath. "Is dad home yet?"

"He'll be home soon. So who are these friends of yours?" Terrence asked.

Cassandra set her roller blades in the closet, undid her knee and elbow pads then removed her helmet and stowed them in the coat closet. "They're outside." She took a deep breath then opened the door so Terrence could see Sage Heart, Life Heart, Love Heart and Sweet Heart standing on the sidewalk, right when their father's car pulled up.

Their father stepped out of his car then stared at the group of colorful animals on the sidewalk, he was a thin middle aged man wearing a business suit with dark hair, a narrow face, brown eyes and glasses. After a minute of silence, Sage Heart walked towards the man and offered his hand up to him. "Hello. My name is Sage Heart Bear. It's nice to meet you."

The man stared at Sage Heart for a moment, then smile and shook his hand. "My name is Adrian Avalon, it's nice to meet you too.

OoOoO

"That's quite a story, Sage Heart," Adrian set his coffee mug down, still trying to process the presence of the four animals like his adopted daughter now sitting at the dining room table with him. They'd had to add the extension leaf to the table to accommodate them and even then Terrence had elected to stand, leaning against the doorway nearby.

Cassandra's mother put a hand on her chin, "I don't think I'd believe you if you weren't sitting in front of us right now." She was staring at the horn growing out of Life Heart's forehead.

"I promise it's all true, Sarah," Life Heart twiddled her fingers together. "I just… never expected to be in this kind of situation."

Sarah was half a decade younger than her husband with a rounded face and her brown hair was done back in a bun on her head. She had green eyes and was slightly overweight, something she was privately ashamed of.

"So if I'm supposed to be one of you then where do I get one of those fancy chest tattoos?" Cassandra pointed at Love Heart's chest symbol from where she sat next to her parents.

"I can give you a chest symbol if you like," Sage Heart said, making his tummy flash for a moment, "I can't say what it will be but it should suit your personality."

Terrence listened to the conversation while staring at their guests, a few critical thoughts ran through his head and he finally spoke, "I hate to be captain bring-down, but do you even have ID, or Social Insurance Numbers, or birth certificates, do you even legally exist? How are you supposed to get a job or even live in this world?"

After a minute of silence, Life Heart spoke up, "Actually I do have birth certificates for Love Heart and Sweet Heart. I registered them at the clinic in the town we used to live in."

"We worked odd jobs back home, I figured we could just do the same here," Sage Heart said, arms spread.

Adrian shook his head, "You can't do that here. Maybe you could in a small town where everyone knows who you are and they don't want to wait weeks for someone to come and help. In the city 'odd jobs' are handled by large contracting companies and people won't be as accepting of magic being used to solve their problems."

"I think I can help you with that. I work for the government and I think I can help you to get proper ID, SINs and get a GED test so you can live in this world, but it won't be free," Sarah picked up her cup and took a drink again, "Do you have some money saved?"

"We do." Life Heart's horn glowed and a purse appeared in a flash of blue light. "I've stored our money in a little magic pocket, for safe keeping," Life Heart dug through her purse to count how much they had.

"That's good, but save some because you need to get clothes," Terrence pointed to the couple.

"Why?" Sweet Heart asked.

Terrence sighed, "Because you can't just walk around naked all the time."

"What's wrong with this?" Love Heart looked down at himself then back up at Terrence.

"Because nothing shows right?" Cassandra smirked and folded her arms, "Trust me, I know what you're going to say. I've had the same arguments with mom and dad for years but most people aren't comfortable with you just walking around in nothing but fur. Save yourself the headache and just go with it."

"In the meantime, you can stay with us. It might be nice to have some guests for a while," Sarah stood up, dusting herself off.

"Where are they supposed to sleep?" Terrence cocked an eyebrow.

"Easy: Life Heart and Sage Heart can have the guest room, Sweet Heart can sleep in Cassandra's room and Love Heart can stay with you," Adrian pointed to Terrence.

Terrence hooded his eyes, "Great… I've always wanted to sleep with a giant stuffed animal."

"I'm not a stuffed animal!" Love Heart stood up and glared at Terrence.

"I call it like I see it, stuffed animal. Hope you have fun with your new friends, Squirt." Terrence turned and headed upstairs.

"Don't call me that!" Cassandra and Love Heart shouted together, both shaking a fist towards Terrence.

Sweet Heart watched the exchange curiously, "Why's your big brother being like that?"

Cassandra sighed, "It's just how big brothers are. You'll see in a few years."

"Not my big brother," Sweet Heart shook her head then grinned.

"Well then, before supper we should go out and get you some clothes," Sarah stood up, dusted off her skirt, and fished her van keys out of the bowl on the counter, "Let's go." She motioned for them to follow her into the garage.

OoOoO

Everyone stopped to stare at what appeared to be a group of large sentient stuffed animals browsing for clothing in the department store before being shooed away by Sarah or Cassandra, who was used to this sort of thing by now.

"So why do we gotta wear this stuff?" Sweet Heart asked, holding up a green t-shirt.

"Because, Sweetie, we have to wear clothes to appear decent in public," Life Heart patted Sweet Heart on her shoulders.

"But, there's no holes for my wings," Sweet Heart frowned, fluttering her wings to make a point.

"I can help you cut holes in the back and hem them, Sweet Heart, I can even show you how to do it yourself in the future," Sarah said, "I'll just need to measure you when we get home."

"Thank you, Sarah. There's so much I need to learn about this," Life Heart turned to a rack of dresses and smiled as she pulled out a pale blue dressed covered in vines and orange and blue flowers. "I like this one," she said.

"You'll need more than just one, and underwear, don't forget underwear," Cassandra said. "Do you know what size you need?"

"What size… umm looks like a medium," Life Heart looked at the tag at the back of the dress' neck."

Cassandra sighed, "Not that… I mean cup size," she pointed to her own chest. Life Heart gave her a confused look, looked down at her chest then back up at Cassandra. Cassandra shook her head then took Life Heart's hand, "Come on 'young lady' it's time to teach you how to pick out your own bras."

"I'm a couple thousand years older than you," Life Heart chided as she let herself be led away to the women's undergarments.

"What about us?" Love Heart set down a black t-shirt he'd been looking at.

"Oh, you just need to find a pack and style of underwear that you like, here," Sarah pointed to an aisle full of socks and underwear in bags.

"Got it," Love Heart set the shirt back on the hanger and walked down the undergarment aisle.

"So how do I attach this," Life Heart had managed to find a bra that fit her bust and had her hands behind her back, trying to attach the hooks together. She struggled for a bit before Cassandra took a hold of her hands.

"Yeesh, it's like when mom first showed me how to do this. Here just pull in and get the hooks through the loops, and there!" Cassandra stepped back so her back was against the changing room door. "how does it feel?"

Life Heart was wearing a white bra and briefs as she looked at her self in the mirror, "Kind of tight, I've never felt them lifted up before."

"You get used to it, and trust me it's better than the alternative," Cassandra shuddered and Life Heart was about to ask, when the fennec held up a hand, "don't ask, at least not right now. At least we know you're a B-cup 'cause you'll need a few of those between laundry days. Now," She turned and unlocked the door, "we need to get you something to wear over that before you come out."

"I'm wearing more then I was when I came in, can I just come out now?" Life Heart asked.

Cassandra laughed, "Yeah, I don't get it either. When I'm naked people feel only a little weirded out but when I have underwear on they suddenly act like I'm shaved bald. I'll grab that dress you said you liked and be back in a minute." She let the door close behind her as she headed back to where she'd left the others.

"Hey Cassandra, what do you think?" Love Heart called over for her to look at his outfit. Love Heart had found a pair of heavy brown denim shorts, a grey t-shirt and a heavy dark brown vest full of pockets worn over his shirt.

Cassandra stared for a moment then asked, "Where did you find that?" while she pointed at his vest.

"Over in the sports area, I think it's cool," Love Heart turned around and looked down his back, "I need a hole for my tail."

"Yeah, gonna have to fix that at home too. Yeesh mom and I have our work cut out for us," Cassandra mumbled as she grabbed the dress that Life Heart had looked at earlier.

"What do you and your mom have to do?" Love Heart raised an eyebrow. Cassandra blanched and darted back to the changing rooms. Love Heart blinked as he watched her go, then shrugged and went back to searching for clothes to add to his bag.

OoOoO

"Now for shoes, and maybe some winter boots," Sarah led the group, with Sage Heart pushing a cart full of the clothes they had.

"Urf!" Sweet Heart fidgeted uncomfortably with the pink shirt she had on, her wings making moving bumps under her shirt until she took it off. She looked down at her feet, or rather her hooves that clopped with each step on the tiled store floor, "I don't think I can wear shoes."

Life Heart looked at her daughter, then down to her own cloven hooves, "Sweet Heart has a point. I don't think they have shoes I can wear, and I don't want metal horseshoes nailed into my hooves, or my daughter's." She looked up at Sarah, her eyes pleading.

Sarah stopped then looked down at their feet, "That is a problem."

"At least the boys have normal feet," Cassandra put her arms behind her head, "How do you stand walking around without shoes?"

Love Heart and Sage Heart shared a glance and Love Heart shrugged, "I've always done it, doesn't seem so hard."

Cassandra whistled, "Your feet gotta be just one big callus by now."

"Despite that it would be a good idea to get something to wear, especially since a lot of buildings won't let you in without footwear," Sarah gestured to the aisles full of shoes. "Just getting them to let me bring you in here was difficult."

"What about me and mom?" Sweet Heart raised her hand, bouncing on her hooves.

"Excuse me, can I help you…" One of the store clerks had approached them, only to stop when he saw the bizarre group in front of him.

"Yeah, if you stop gawking for a minute. Can you help the two horse ladies find something for their hooves, without nails," Cassandra said, rolling her eyes on the last two words.

"Oh my, well I'll do my best."

Cassandra snickered at the man's bewildered expression before turning down the aisle, "Well it's his problem now, let's find you something to wear."


	7. Halloween Night

Chapter 7: Halloween Night

Sarah Avalon was sitting at her kitchen table and looking over some forms she had received earlier that day. She tut-tutted as she looked over the results.

"Is something wrong, honey?" Adrian asked, as he poured himself a glass of water.

"I just got their results back today, Sage Heart, Life Heart, Love Heart and Sweet Heart all passed their GED exams," Sarah showed the forms to her husband.

"Really? That's great news," Adrian smiled then took a drink.

"It is, but it saddens me that they're all self-educated and home schooled and even ten-year-old Sweet Heart could pass the exams, while I've known tenth grade students who can't." Sarah sighed and set the forms aside, "But I suppose there's no point in dwelling on it now. They've passed and they'll be out to search for jobs tomorrow."

"Alright," Adrian gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Coming to bed?"

"In a minute, I just need to file these for later." Sarah stood up and took the forms with her.

OoOoO

Sweet Heart Pegasus was awoken by Cassandra's alarm clock. She grumbled and put her hands over her ears as she tried to curl up under the sleeping bag she lay in on the floor of their room until, finally, she heard Cassandra grumble, get out of bed, and shut the alarm off before heading off to shower.

Sweet Heart sighed, uncovered her ears and tried to get back to sleep but as she heard more people getting up Sweet Heart reluctantly sat up and shook her head before seeing to her wings. She had to preen any molted feathers each morning or they got caught and hurt like hell. She stretched just as Cassandra walked back into the room, still damp from the shower.

"Mornin' Sweet Heart. Any big plans for the day?" Cassandra dug out her underwear and started getting dressed.

Sweet Heart shook her head, "Nope. Is the shower free?"

"Should be, but not for long," Cassandra fished a bra out and latched it up at the back, "Better hurry if you want to clean up before everyone else needs it."

Half-an-hour later, Sweet Heart was seated at the Avalon's kitchen table, her wings and tail poking through holes that had been sewn into the back of her black shorts and yellow t-shirt and digging into a bowl of cereal as everyone else came downstairs, grabbed breakfast and coffee and one by one headed for the door.

Sage Heart and Life Heart came down together. Life Heart wearing a pale pink dress and Sage Heart was wearing a costume tuxedo and carrying a large briefcase. The two shared a kiss before they headed out the front door.

"How are the kids?" Sage Heart asked.

Life Heart giggled, "They're sweet. Every day they're so excited that a unicorn is looking after them, though I do have to be harsh with them sometimes. How about you?"

"Thanks to your magic lessons my little shows are a hit. Have fun today," they stepped outside.

Love Heart was the next to come down, he was wearing a blue t-shirt and blue jeans. He grabbed a paper travel mug he poured coffee into it, took a sip and grimaced.

"Where are you going big brother?" Sweet Heart asked from where she sat on the couch.

"Babysitting job. I have a regular for most days of the week," Love Heart pulled his red and white running shoes on. "Gotta go!" he darted out the door, slamming it on his way out.

Sweet Heart sighed but finished her breakfast and stacked her bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. Then went to lie, stomach down, on the couch. She watched Sarah and Adrian leave for work, then Terrence came downstairs. He glanced at Sweet Heart as he was making toast. "What are you doing today, kid?"

Sweet Heart huffed, "Nothing. Your dad says I'm too young to get a job and I don't have to go to school."

"Well there's always the game console," Terrence pointed to the black brick-like device sitting in front of the television, "I took it out last night just in case you got bored. Do you know how to work a CD tray?"

Sweet Heart sat up and nodded, "Uh-huh, miss Miranda showed me how."

"Well just pick a game that looks interesting, put it and use the controller to play," he pointed to the black paddle connected to the console by a cord, "just don't break anything."

Sweet Heart grinned, "OK!"

Cassandra came barreling down the stairs, grabbing Terrence's toast and stuffing it in her mouth as she bolted on her rollerblades and pads. "See ya Sweet Heart!" she shouted as she took off.

"You're gonna be late again!" Terrence shouted after her. Sighing he grabbed a breakfast bar from the pantry and headed for the door. "Just remember to grab a key from the bowl if you go out today." Terrence shut the door behind him which left Sweet Heart alone in the house.

Sweet Heart spread her wings out, lay on the couch and just took in the sounds of the house: the humming of the refrigerator and the buzz of the lights. Finally, she got up and looked through the selection of games, picking out one with cartoon characters in miniature cars, stuck it in the game console, turned on the TV and grabbed the controller. Might as well give video games a try.

OoOoO

"And there's lunch already made in the fridge, don't take any more than you need, and don't let him play too many video games, and there's a list of emergency numbers on the fridge, out of his reach…"

Love Heart nodded each time the Mrs. Cooper listed off all her requirements. "I understand, Mrs. Cooper. Stevan will be fine, I promise."

"Alright," Mrs. Cooper checked her watch, "I gotta go, be careful!" A moment later she was driving away in the car.

Once she was gone, Love Heart shut the door and took a deep breath, "Alright, I can do this."

Stevan was four years old and sitting in his bedroom when Love Heart stepped into the doorway. Stevan looked up from the bricks was he playing with. "Are you a teddy bear?"

Love Heart chuckled, "I'm a Care Bear, so maybe? Your parents asked me to watch you while they were at work."

"OK." Stevan stood up, "Gonna go play!" he grinned and darted past Love Heart.

"Whoa!" Love Heart was taken aback, "Get back here!" he took off after Stevan.

OoOoO

"Life Heart! Life Heart!" a young girl all but tore away from her father and ran over to give Life Heart a hug.

"It's nice to see you again Emily," Life Heart patted her head and looked up at her father, who had tensed up when his daughter ran over to hug what he thought was a large stuffed animal. "I assure you, I'm very real and I will look after Emily while you're at work."

"Alright. Be safe Emily," he said before heading out the door.

"Told ya she was a real unicorn!" one of the girls from the group of about a dozen children pointed at Life Heart.

"Nuh-uh, that's just a costume!" The boy retorted.

Life Heart carefully pushed Emily towards the group and walked over to the boy and crouched in front of him, "I am a real unicorn, see." She smiled.

"That horn's fake!" he reached up, grabbed Life Heart's horn and pulled.

Life Heart winced, "Please don't do that, it hurts."

"Nnnng! Come off!" the boy grunted.

Life Heart sighed and sent a pulse of magic through her horn, which made the boy start to lift off the ground. "Whaaa!" he cried out as he let go of her horn and floated about a foot off the ground.

"Thank you, phew!" Life Heart swiped her forehead as she stood up. She found herself surrounded by the children, wide-eyed and all clamoring at her.

"Was that magic?"

"Can I fly?"

"Can you make a big cake?"

"Lemme fly I wanna fly!"

Life Heart giggled, "Oh my, seems I've made an impression. Alright one at a time though then you have to promise to sit and be good."

The kids all grinned, "OK!"

OoOoO

Sweet Heart stuck her tongue partway out as she steered the car in her video game around a corner, but missed and got stuck on a wall. Sweet Heart groaned and dropped the controller on the couch next to her then got up and shut the console and TV off.

"I'm bored," she huffed and looked around the living room. With little else to do, Sweet Heart decided to explore the house. She already knew about the main floor's master bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen so she went downstairs to explore. The laundry and furnace room were a bore, there wasn't even a crawl space big enough for her to bother exploring.

The backyard was similarly uninteresting, just a tall tree and grass and nothing else impressive. That only left upstairs. Sweet Heart trotted up the stairs and looked around. Just the three bedrooms and a bathroom and a string hanging from the ceiling.

Sweet Heart stopped and stared. The string hanging from the ceiling had a small wooden ball on the end and was connected to a rectangular cut in the ceiling. Sweet Heart gave it a curious look for a moment then flew up to the string grabbed it and pulled with all her might.

The ceiling seemed to heave and the cut section pulled down, unfolding a ladder that smacked Sweet Heart on the back and knocked her to the floor. "OW!" she stood up and rubbed her back then turned around to see the ladder. Curious, she walked around in time to see the ladder start to rise back up, then jumped on it to hold it down and climbed up. At the top she found a latch to hold the ladder down as she stepped up, which she set to avoid being trapped in here. Sweet Heart fumbled around until she found a light switch and flipped it.

Boxes. Piles and piles of boxes surrounded her, all covered in layers of dust, thick and thin in places. Sweet Heart tried to flap her wings to get a look from overhead but was overwhelmed by a coughing fit as the small gust rose a cloud of dust around her, which she blew away with a blast of conjured wind, only making things worse. She stumbled to the nearby window and pushed it open before she blew all the dust out of the window.

Sweet Heart conjured a small amount of water to clean off her face then looked around. Now that the dust was gone she could see writing on many of the boxes: "OLD DISHES" "GRADE SCHOOL MEMORIES" "CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS" "CASSANDRA'S FAVORITE TV". Sweet Heart stopped at that box and pulled it out from under another box marked "HALLOWEEN COSTUMES" that fell back and spilled open.

Sweet Heart picked up the top item in the box, a silver box entitled "SUPERMAN The Animated Series. The Complete Series" With a picture of a muscular adult human man with black hair in blue tights with a red cape, boots and briefs, a yellow belt, and a large red S on his chest inside a red and yellow shield. Sweet Heart set the box aside and started digging through the rest of the box. "DIGIMON Season 1", "Dragon Ball Kai", "Mobile Fight G Gundam", "Sailor Moon", "Batman Beyond", "Tenga, toppppen?". Sweet Heart scrunched up her at that last title and did her best to sound out the words. "Ten-ga, top en, Gurren, Lagen?" She shook her head and set the box down, then looked up at the box she had knocked over.

With a flap of her wings, Sweet Heart vaulted over the boxes and looked at the spilled contents. It was full of costumes, all too small for anyone in the house except her. She pulled out a pink skirt, or at least half of one with a tear along the side. She set aside the skirt and pulled out a tricorne hat and an eye-patch. Sweet Heart grinned as she put the hat on and pulled out more of the costume.

A couple minutes later Sweet heart had changed into a full pirate's costume: tricorne hat, eye patch, white shirt, blue coat, black pants and a plastic cutlass. As usual she didn't even try to put the shoes over her hooves. She grinned and swung her fake sword around. "Arr me hearties, I be the dread pirate pinkfeather, terror of the sea and the sky and, Umph!" Sweet Heart winced as she pulled the costume off, shaking her wings and tail after she did so. She looked at the piece, she'd have to ask Sarah to cut some wing and tail holes in it. She grabbed her discarded clothes and pulled them back on, grateful for the holes in the back. She reached down and picked up the Superman box and pirate costume before she headed downstairs.

Once back in the living room, Sweet Heart dropped the costume on the couch then opened the box and pulled out a book of DVDs. After a moment she opened the game console, assuming that it could be used to play DVDs, and replaced the game disc with the one from the Superman DVD case marked as "Disc 1". She jumped for joy when she saw the disc start up then picked up the game controller and, once the previews were over, selected "Play all" on the screen.

OoOoO

Love Heart was exhausted. He had spent the first three hours of his job literally chasing Stevan around the house, nearly breaking things several times, before Stevan finally got too tired and dropped down in the living room. Love Heart spent the rest of the day playing board games with him, his mother having left specific instructions not to let her son spend all day playing those "brain rotting video games".

Love Heart was only too relieved to collect his payment from Stevan's mother and leave the house. Once outside Love Heart focused and electrified his body before taking off down the street at high speed, startling several people he nearly plowed into.

OoOoO

Cassandra was sweaty, hot and tired. After school wrestling practise was a necessary chore as she circled with the Stuart, the male teammate she was practising with. Stuart grit his teeth and lunged forwards, trying to put the fennec in a hold only for Cassandra to counter with her own hold. Stuart tried to force her down only for Confidence to buckle her legs and lift him up over her head and slam him down on the mat.

"Grand amplitude throw, five points and match," Coach Wilson raised a hand. "Alright let someone else use the ring you two."

"How does that runt do that?" Stuart grumbled as he just lay there. Stuart was the definition of a teenager with an overactive pituitary gland. He was a Sophomore but over the summer puberty hit him like a ton of bricks and he now towered over the other members of the wrestling team with muscles to back it up. He was promising and talented but whenever he practised against Cassandra he always ended up flat on his back.

"Because I'm almost all muscle," Cassandra walked around to his side, "and I've been doing this for years." She pushed her now loose hanging braid behind her back and offered a hand to Stuart. He glared and shoved her hand aside before sitting himself up.

Stuart blinked then grinned, "Hey, looks like another one of you freaks is here."

"What." Cassandra turned to look at the bleachers then grinned.

"Yeah, that big stuffed bear sitting there," Stuart pointed to where Love Heart was sitting.

"Don't call me a stuffed bear!" Love Heart shot back.

Cassandra ignored Stuart and bounded over to where Love Heart sat, sitting down next to him. "So, what brings you here?"

"I wanted to see your wrestling practise and the kid's mom got home early." Love Heart sat back in the bleachers. "So this is wrestling?"

"Yup," Cassandra averted her eyes from the practise.

Love Heart kept watching and squinted his eyes one at a time as he watched. "You're fighting right? It looks too slow."

"Have you ever been in a real fight?" Confidence glanced sideways at Love Heart.

Love Heart nodded and closed his eyes as he drifted back to the last day he'd spent at his old home. The monster, dad telling him to run, him going back and fighting the weird Frankenstein of animal limbs from creatures like his family. His eyes started to tear up and he put a hand over his face. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Com'on, it can't have been that bad." Cassandra smirked, trying to imagine what kind of fight this bear could have been in, only to see him glare at her with his wet eyes and bare his teeth.

"You don't know anything!" Love Heart growled. He stood up and almost tripped over his own feet as he bolted from the gym. Cassandra just stared for a moment then jumped out of the bleachers and took off after Love Heart.

"Avalon get back here!" She heard Coach Wilson call after her but she ignored it only managing to catch sight of Love Heart at the end of the hall as he exited the building.

Cassandra burst through the school doors and searched around, but failed to see the green bear anywhere. She took a deep breath and listened intently and heard the sound of sobbing coming from above her. Cassandra stepped away from the building and looked up to see Love Heart sitting on the edge of the roof and softly crying into his hands. Cassandra just stared, open mouthed, up at the green bear for a minute before she called up to him.

"Love Heart!"

Love Heart wiped the tears from his now bloodshot eyes and looked down at Cassandra. The fennec's ears were drooping and her eyes had softened. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Love Heart sighed and slipped off the edge of the roof. Cassandra gasped and moved to catch him only for Love Heart's decent to be slowed by a cushion of air that blew out from where he landed. Cassandra stared in awe at the green bear. That was magic!

Love Heart stared back at her, still trying to dry his bloodshot eyes, "What!"

"Can you teach me magic?" Cassandra asked.

Love Heart blinked, his sorrow dispersed for the moment. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I want to learn magic, to do stuff like you do." Cassandra pointed to her stomach, "Hell I even want a breast tattoo like you guys. I'll even take a funny name if you'll teach me."

Love Heart held up his hands, "Whoa what, huh?" he shook his head.

"We can talk more later I gotta get my stuff then I'll see you at home!" Cassandra darted around him and back into the school.

Love Heart sighed and stared at his feet, and the red and white running shoes that covered them. He shouldn't have snapped at her, but the memory was far from even being a year old. Feeling hungry he decided to grab something to eat before heading home.

OoOoO

Sweet Heart was well into the fifth episode of the cartoon, watching as a giant robot T-Rex attacked Superman who had been weakened by kryptonite. Sweet Heart jumped up and cheer as Superman ripped the mouth off the robot right as Love Heart walked in the front door, staring at the digital watch that was showing 9:42am, and changed to 4:29 pm when he tapped it. Love Heart jumped and whirled around only to see Sweet Heart hovering near the TV for a moment as she watched the episode finish before landing back on the ground.

"Having fun?"

Sweet Heart turned to see her brother and grinned. "I found this upstairs, wanna watch?"

"Sure," Love Heart sat down to watch as the next episode began. Love Heart averted his eyes as a new character got covered in purple goo then spotted the pirate costume Sweet Heart had left on the couch next to where they were sitting. He picked up the shirt and looked it over. "Where did you get this?"

"Upstairs. Same place as the show." Sweet Heart hopped up and grabbed the pants from the costume. "I'm gonna ask Sarah to cut some holes in it, then I can wear it."

"Why?" Love Heart gave his sister a confused look with one eye squinted.

"For Halloween!" Sweet Heart grinned, "Where everyone dresses up and wanders on the streets being scaaaary," Sweet Heart hunched her head forwards, raised her arms and wiggled her fingers in what she thought was an intimidating manner.

Love Heart laughed. He had seen the residents of the town near their old home do this around the time his family went into torpor each year. Sweet Heart had shown some fascination with the holiday for the last couple years but until their home was destroyed she had been too scared to try crossing the water without her parents or Love Heart and none of the had shown any particular interest in the holiday, not enough to see what little celebrations the people were having over on the mainland. Come to think of it this was going to be the first year that none of them went into torpor, not with the way they were living now.

Sweet Heart's shouting shook Love Heart out of his stupor. "Ooh ooh I know! You can be Superman!" Sweet Heart scooped up the DVD box and pointed to the superhero on the cover.

"What?" Love Heart blinked then took the box from her hand.

"Yeah! You gotta take me trick-or-treating!" Sweet Heart flapped her wings excitedly almost levitating off the ground. "I wanna see everyone dressed up and all the decorations. Will you take me please?" She leaned close to her brother's face, eyes pleading with him.

Love Heart blinked, chuckled then ruffled his sister's hair. "OK, I'll take you."

"Yay!" Sweet Heart turned a small loop in the air, almost hitting the ceiling.

"Take her where?" Cassandra had just stepped in the front door and was undoing her skates as she spoke up.

"Trick-or-treating!" Sweet Heart skipped over to Cassandra. "I found a pirate costume upstairs and a cartoon so I'm gonna ask Sarah to make it fit me so I can go out on Halloween."

"Upstairs, what do you…" Cassandra stepped around the wall to peer into the living room as she pulled her helmet off. "Heh, didn't think I'd see this show again," she said as she saw the DVD was still playing. "Guess you found the attic, Sweet Heart."

"You mean the dusty place above our bedrooms?" Sweet Heart looked up at Cassandra.

"Yup. We keep all our old stuff up there. This was one of Terrence's costumes." She picked up the pirate costume. "So what are you going as, Love Heart?"

"Sweet Heart wants me to be Superman," Love Heart held up the DVD box.

"I'll see if mom can make one of those. I'll take this to her room, OK?" Cassandra asked Sweet Heart.

"OK, thank you," Sweet Heart gave Cassandra a quick hug then turned back to the episode on the TV, that was now half over. Sweet Heart frowned and picked up the controller, messing with the buttons until she figured out how to restart the episode. Love Heart sat back down to watch the show with his little sister while Cassandra took the costume with her to the sewing room on the main floor.

"OK, I can do this," Cassandra took a deep breath as she stepped into the sewing room.

It was at the end of the current episode that Love Heart and Sweet Heart heard the whirring noise from down the hallway.

"Huh?" Sweet Heart's ears swiveled towards the sound and Love Heart turned to face the hallway. It sounded like the sewing machine. Sweet Heart paused the DVD and followed Love Heart, who was already heading towards the sewing room. As they approached the sound stopped and so did they. Brother and sister shared a look and shrugged then continued onwards to the sewing room.

Love Heart opened the door and peered in, with Sweet Heart sticking her head in below her brother's. They both saw the pirate costume sitting on the sewing machine but the room was otherwise empty.

"Cassandra, are you in here?" Sweet Heart scanned the room then squeezed around Love Heart to get a better look.

Love Heart looked around for a moment then sighed. "She's not here, Sweet Heart. Want to go back to the show?"

Sweet Heart thought for a moment, then shook her head, "Nope. I'm gonna go outside!" She darted past Love Heart and he turned to watch her trot out the front door. Love Heart carefully shut the door to the sewing room, careful to not let it latch, returned to the living and turned off the TV and game console, then he stood and waited. A minute passed, then two, then five before Love Heart finally heard the sewing machine start up again.

Love Heart slid carefully along the floor, careful not to let the floor creak as he edged towards the sewing room door. Love Heart carefully pushed the door open just enough to see through the door crack in the frame. He saw Cassandra running the sewing machine, sewing the edges of a cut in the pirate's shirt to prevent fraying and tearing.

Cassandra cut off the thread and secured it before she held up the finished shirt. There, that should line up with Sweet Heart's wings. She held up the costume's pants as well to look at the hole for Sweet Heart's tail. The tricorne hat was fine as it is, her ears wouldn't get in the way.

"You can sew?" Love Heart opened the door and stepped into the room.

Cassandra jumped, almost tearing the pants in the process, and she whirled around to face Love Heart, her face like that of a criminal caught in a spotlight.

They just stared at each other for a couple minute before Cassandra spoke, "Don't tell anyone about this!"

"What? Why?" Love Heart gave her a confused look.

"Because tomboys don't do girly things." Cassandra looked downcast as she carefully folded the costume and set it down on the table.

"Tomboy? Girly things? What are you talking about?" Love Heart tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out what she meant.

Cassandra sighed, "You wouldn't understand."

Love Heart's eyes narrowed and he straightened up, "Just like you wouldn't understand what it's like to be in a real fight for your life!" He stepped forwards and glared at the fennec.

Cassandra actually shrank back for a moment then regained her composure. "You're right, I don't understand. So tell me."

Love Heart was about to start shouting, then stopped, groaned and looked up at Cassandra. "I'll tell you if you tell me what you're talking about."

Cassandra huffed, then sighed and sat down in the office chair in front of the sewing machine. "It's just how I'm expected to act. A tomboy doesn't like 'girly things' like sewing, tomboys like sports and fighting and superheroes and actions shows and can beat up all the boys."

"And you don't?" Love Heart grabbed a folding chair that was set up against the wall and sat down across from Cassandra.

"Yes, I mean no I…" Cassandra sighed and hung her head. "I like superheroes and shonen anime and Gurren Lagann is one of the greatest giant robot shows I've ever seen and I liked learning karate but… I didn't want to be on the wrestling team. But when I started high school everyone kept asking me why a 'tough tomboy' like me wasn't on a sport's team. And I kept making excuses about not having found a good choice yet but eventually I just picked wrestling because it involved fighting and wasn't a team sport like everything else. I didn't want to learn a new way to fight or join a team just show I could beat people up, I learned not to do that when mom and dad put me in karate class. Then I had to spend all my free time that year learning Olympic wrestling and going to practise so I wouldn't look like I was slacking to anyone. I was already the short furry freak of the school and at least this way people show me some amount of respect and mostly stopped teasing me." Cassandra sucked in a slow shuddering breath and started to cry. "I finally told my parents this year I wanted to quit the team. They said if I didn't want to I shouldn't have to or I shouldn't have in the first place but when I went to tell Coach Wilson, I chickened out and stayed on the team. I guess I just don't want to quit when I'm so close to the last time I'll ever have to do this."

Love Heart stood stunned. Cassandra had poured his heart out to him and he wasn't sure what to say. High school society was a completely foreign concept to him but he could tell just how much she was hurting. He stood up then leaned down to give Cassandra a hug. Cassandra froze but didn't push him off.

"That alright, just let it out." Love Heart said, "I can't pretend to know what it's like but I'll be here to listen if you want.

Cassandra laughed and rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Thanks. I needed to let that out." Cassandra hugged Love Heart back then gently pushed him away. "Tell ya what: if you keep this a secret and tell me about this fight for your life, I'll make a Superman costume for you from scratch, deal?"

Love Heart was taken aback, but he sighed. "Deal." He sat back down, "It was the last day I ever saw my old home…"

OoOoO

"Alright, Sweet Heart, how does it feel?" Cassandra stepped back to look at the pegasus. She had on the tricorne hat, the white pirate's shirt and black pants, now with holes for her wings and tail. As a final touch, Cassandra helped her pull on a large red pirate's long coat, also with holes for her wings, barely giving her space to keep her wings folded. Sweet Heart grinned and swung the large plastic cutlass around.

"Arr, I be the dreaded pirate pinkfeather, scourge of the sea and the skies and dread pirate to all who sail!" She turned to Cassandra, "how was that?"

Cassandra laughed, "You sound just like a pirate. Where's your eye patch?"

Sweet Heart stuck out her tongue, "I don't wanna wear it, I can't see with it on. Can't I be a pirate with two eyes?"

"Pirates didn't wear eyepatches because they lost eyes," Terrence was sitting nearby, watching the spectacle while he worked on some papers. "They did it so their eyes would be adjusted to darkness if they needed to fight below the deck without any light."

"Huh?" Sweet Heart cocked her head to one side.

"You know how you can't see all that well when it's dark, until your eyes adjust to the light?" Terrence asked. Sweet Heart nodded. "Well it's like that. They keep an eye adjusted to darkness so they don't have to wait if it gets dark all of a sudden."

"Ooooh!" Sweet Heart nodded.

"Hey Superman! Are you ready yet?" Cassandra called.

"Yeah, just a minute!" Love Heart's voice issues from the sewing room where he'd gone to change. He emerged a minute later, wearing the blue fabric costume with red briefs, a yellow belt, red boots, and the familiar red and yellow S shield on his chest. To top it off he had a red cape attached to his shoulders with Velcro (Cassandra had insisted on this, just in case it got caught on something so it would tear away instead of dragging Love Heart along).

Love Heart turned in place, "How do I look?"

"Cool!" Sweet Heart bounced over to Love Heart.

"You're welcome," Cassandra stood, arms folded, smiling at her work.

"What about your costume?" Love Heart turned to Cassandra, eyebrow raised.

Cassandra waved them off. "I was gonna stay home tonight, you two can have fun."

"Really. 'Cause I saw that thing you were working on all week when you thought you were alone," Terrence smirked. Cassandra blanched.

"What costume?" Sweet Heart asked, as she pulled the eyepatch over her left eye.

"I want to see it too," Love Heart turned to face Cassandra too.

"Yeah, com'on squirt, show us," Terrence set his pencil down and grinned at her.

"Don't call me squirt!" Cassandra stamped her foot and shook her fist at him. She sighed, "fine. Just don't laugh at me."

"No promises are made!" Terrence called after her.

"Where are Adrian and Sarah?" Love Heart asked.

"Mom and Dad are at a costume party at Dad's job. Trust me you're fortunate to have missed seeing what they're wearing." Terrence shuddered. "What about your parents?"

"They said they were gonna go out with a bunch of kids whose parents were too busy to take them out trick-or-treating," Love Heart said. "Mom said she wasn't going to bother with a costume and dad just wore his magician's outfit."

"So what is Cassandra gonna wear?" Sweet Heart asked.

"Oh you'll see," Terrence smirked again.

Once she was finally dressed, Cassandra stood in front of the sewing room's mirror, checking to make sure her costume was on properly. "Might as well go all in at this point." She too a deep breath as she exited to the living room.

"The Pretty Guardian in a Sailor Suit. Guardian of Love and Courage. Sailor Jupiter!" Cassandra did a turn, brought her hands up and then spun back to face them, arms out from her sides. "I'll make you feel so much regret, it'll leave you numb!" She half turned away from the group, looked over her shoulder and pointed to herself with her thumb.

Cassandra was dressed in a mini-skirt version of a Japanese school uniform called a sailor fuku, with a green collar and skirt, a large pink bow on her lower back and chest both held in place by a large green button, a gold cloth tiara with a green costume gem set in the middle of her forehead, green lace up boots, elbow-length gloves with green trim, rose shaped earrings (just clips, no piercings), and had her sandy hair done up in a high ponytail held in place by a hair-tie with two small green marbles attached.

"Cool!" Sweet Heart cheered.

"Who's Sailor Jupiter?" Love Heart asked, giving a confused look.

Cassandra turned back and straightened out the mini-skirt, "She's a character from an anime I watched a lot as a kid, Sailor Moon."

"Squirt loved it so much she asked mom to order the subtitled version for her 11th birthday," Terrence said. "It looks good."

"Thanks." Cassandra was blushing slightly as she turned to the front door. "It might be a bit cold in this."

"You're covered in fur, you'll be fine," Terrence waved off her concern.

"Fennecs are desert animals, my fur keeps the sun off not the heat in," Cassandra glared at her brother. "But fine, I'll go. Don't spy on me again, or you'll regret it," She added, smacking her right fist into her left hand.

"Alright. I'll watch for trick-or-treaters. Don't forget your bags." Terrence pointed to the three pillowcases by the front door he'd pulled out for them. Love Heart as Superman, Sweet Heart as a Pirate, and Confidence Heart as Sailor Jupiter all set out for their night of trick-or-treats as Terrence settled in for a night of handing out candy.

OoOoO

The sun was just going down as Love Heart, Cassandra and Sweet Heart stepped outside. Other trick-or-treaters already scattered across the neighbourhood as Sweet Heart practically skipped along with Love Heart and Cassandra right behind her. Most houses only had a couple token decorations like a jack-o-lantern or maybe some bats hanging in the windows, but at least one house per block had gone all out with lights, huge stand-up or inflatable directions on the lawn, fake spider webs hanging off the gutters and ghost hanging from the trees.

Love Heart swept his gaze across the various houses on the street, "So we just go up to the houses and ask for candy?"

"Only houses the houses with lights on," Cassandra pointed to the house two doors down from her own. "Just go up to the door, knock or ring the bell and say 'trick-or-treat'"

"OK!" Sweet Heart bounded up to the front door and knocked. The door opened right as Love Heart and Cassandra caught up with Sweet Heart as she held out her pillowcase, "Trick-or Treat!"

"Oh, hello. Cassandra are these friends of yours?" the old lady at the door looked at the three costumed animals on her doorstep.

"House-mates, trick-or-treat!" She held out her own pillowcase.

"You're getting a little old for this aren't you?" the lady said as she handed out a small cardboard into each of their pillowcases.

"This'll be my last year, I came to show Captain Sweet Heart here what it's like," She prodded the pegasus' shoulder which made her stumble but stay upright.

"OK then, have a good night," the door shut and they continued on their way.

After zig-zagging across their home street, Sweet Heart's bag was only a tenth full. She grinned down at her stash, lifting her eyepatch to get a better look. "That's a lot," she looked up at Cassandra, "Where do we go now?"

"Next street over, then the fire station, then a couple more streets after that," Cassandra traced lines in the air as she recalled the directions. "We should have enough by then."

"Yeah! Let's go!" Sweet Heart almost took to the air as she darted forwards with her wings spread, forcing Love Heart and Cassandra to jog to keep up with her.

OoOoO

"Hey, is that Cassandra?" Stuart pointed at the three as they left the fire station.

"So what if it is… what is she wearing?" The boy with Stuart turned to see Cassandra in her Sailor Jupiter outfit. "And… who the little pink pony in the pirate costume?"

"I dunno, let's go ask," Stuart chuckled only to be pulled the opposite direction.

"Talk to her at school, we're going to be late."

OoOoO

Three streets later Sweet Heart's bag was half full and she had to hoist it over her shoulder to keep it from dragging on the ground. She put on her fake pirate accent once again, "How much more booty be there be to plunder?"

Love Heart chuckled and Cassandra laughed aloud, "Nice accent there 'captain' and maybe one more block should be fine."

"Are we supposed to eat this all in one night?" Love Heart looked into his own bag.

"No, just at whatever pace you want," Cassandra twirled her bag around. "I'm gonna make it last though."

"I've never seen so much of this stuff at once. It is always like this?" Sweet Heart asked.

"Oh Halloween, yup," Cassandra nodded. "Now let's keep moving."

It was almost 10pm when the group finally returned home, hauling pillowcases half-full of chocolate, hard candy, gum and chips into the house. Sweet Heart was hovering now to keep the case from dragging along the ground. "This is all mine?"

Love Heart nodded as they stepped up to the Avalons' front door, "Yup. Yeesh, how am I supposed to eat all of this?" He hefted the bag up.

"Not all at once, trust me. Just enjoy it," Cassandra opened the front door and led them back inside her house.

Sage Heart was sitting up and talking with Terrence and turned when he heard the front door open. "Welcome home. How was your night."

"Great!" Sweet Heart flew over to her father and held up her pillowcase full of candy. "We got so much candy!"

"That's great," Sage Heart took Sweet Heart's tricorne hat off and ruffled her headfur.

"Just don't eat it all at once," Terrence said.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that? I can handle it!" Sweet Heart puffed out her cheeks in annoyance then dug a small strawberry candy out of the bag and popped it into her mouth.


	8. Life Lessons

A/N: I came to a decision recently that will affect the story going forwards. You don't have to go back and re-read anything if you don't want to but I've changed the design of the Care Bears Family members in this story. From now on their whole front will be white from the top of their chests down to their tummies and their symbols will be in the center of their chests instead of on their tummies and will be called chest symbols. Also adult Care Bears are now taller, about 4-5 feet tall on average instead of around 3 feet tall, about halfway between the height they've been shown in the cartoons and the average height of an adult human; I will explain how this works with the show canon later. I have edited previous chapters to reflect this and went ahead and replaced the text in all those chapters before I posted this one. I hope this doesn't drive you away but I feel I must create my own stamp in this AU and create a version of the Care Bear Family that is more than just the nelvana/dic, AiCAL and WtCAL worlds, even if I use the framework of Nelvana/Dic as a jumping off point.

Chapter 8: Life Lessons

"Hey look, it's the pretty sailor scout!"

Cassandra froze in the middle of the school hallway. Stuart's call had caused everyone present to freeze in place.

"What's the matter? Ashamed of what I saw you wearing last night?" Stuart approached Cassandra as she turned slowly around. But instead of fear or shock, he was met with a look of fierce determination and rage.

"Why should I be? What's wrong with dressing like Sailor Jupiter? Because it's too girly? Says who? And why the hell should I even take what you say seriously? You're just an overdeveloped meat-head who can't throw an opponent to save his life!" With each phrase Cassandra took a step towards Stuart.

"Oh yeah, so…" Stuart speech faltered faltered as Cassandra continued.

"What are you going to do about it? Fight me?" Cassandra smirked and folded her arms, "you can't even take me when we're playing by the rules. In a real fight I'd kick your ass without even trying." Cassandra touched her chin with a finger for a moment, then smiled, "Hell I might as well quit the wrestling team at this point so I don't have to deal with jerks like you."

"WHAT?!" the shout came from several of her team mates who were watching the exchange.

Cassandra looked at them, then rolled her eyes, "All right, I'll stick around until the tournament in spring, but after that I'm done. Keep your sports shit out of my life OK? Good!" She turned and marched away to class.

Stuart was baffled and shook his head. He grit his teeth and charged at Cassandra. Cassandra could hear someone softly crying on a rooftop, the clumsy charge didn't even merit her full attention. She sidestepped at the last moment and Stuart stumbled, then fell flat on his face. Cassandra waked past him without a second glance.

As she reached her classroom door she paused for a moment, "Hey, I know what I should be called now."

OoOoO

"So what do you want your name to be?" Love Heart stood in front of Cassandra, who was stripped down to her undergarments in front of him.

Cassandra smirked, "Confidence Heart Fennec. So give me my symbol!"

Love Heart smiled, "Alright, here goes." Love Heart unzipped the front of his black hoodie, his chest symbol glowed and he fired off a beam of light at Cassandra. The beam whirled around her several times before settling on her chest and forming a blue ribbon with a heart shaped button.

Cassandra touched her new chest symbol just confirm that it was real then jumped and whooped! "Alright!" she gave Love Heart a big hug which almost lifted him off the floor.

"Any time." Love Heart chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

OoOoO

"Hey. Wake up Love Heart." Terrence stepped over Love Heart as he headed for the upstairs bathroom. Love Heart groaned and tried to cover his ears from the sounds of Terrence's alarm clock, but finally gave up and pulled himself out of the sleeping bag on the floor.

"All I want is a comfy bed to sleep in," Love Heart yawned and stretched as he stood up, then shivered, why was it so cold? Love Heart trudged over to the window and pulled the curtains open.

White. The whole world was white. Covered in a fresh blanket of still falling snow.

"Big brother!" Love Heart's shock was broken as Sweet Heart came charging into the room he and Terrence shared, "Did you see it? All the snow!" Sweet Heart hovered up at Love Heart's eye level and held onto the window ledge.

Love Heart smiled and nodded, "Yeah I mean wow?"

"Haven't you two ever seen snow before?" Terrence sat with his sister at the breakfast table as Love Heart and Sweet Heart stared out the front window.

Love Heart shook his head, "Not this calm before. We usually just slept through winter."

Confidence Heart stared at Love Heart, "How could you sleep that long?"

"Yeah, it's like he's a bear or something," Terrence rolled his eyes as he dug into a bowl of cereal.

"I slept too," Sweet Heart turned to look at the two.

"Well I'm not sleeping any more today." Love Heart walked over to the counter to make toast. "No work till Monday either."

"Let's go ice skating." Confidence Heart finished wolfing down her breakfast, "I just need to get you some skates are we're good to go." She looked over to Sweet Heart who was staring back at her.

"Can I come?" Sweet Heart had walked over to the table and grabbed a bowl of cereal.

"Sorry, your hooves won't fit in skates," Terrence took a drink of coffee.

"Aww…" Sweet Heart pouted.

"Why don't you take her sledding?" Confidence Heart smirked and took her dishes to the sink.

"Because I have plans," Terrence finished off his coffee.

"Going to meet up with James?" Confidence Heart returned to stand next to the table.

"Yup." Terrence stood up and took his dishes to the sink.

OoOoO

"Who's James?" Love Heart asked as he got into the passenger seat of Adrian's car.

"My brother's boyfriend." Confidence Heart tossed her skated into the back seat then climbed into the driver's seat and started the car.

"Boyfriend? But he's a boy, or a man…" Love Heart tried to process what he had just heard.

"It's a different world, guys can be with guys and girls can be with girls, and some can be with anyone in between." Confidence checked over her shoulder and backed out of the driveway.

"In-between?"

Confidence Heart sighed as she pulled into the street, "Don't ask, I barely understand it myself."

"Hmm…"

OoOoO

"Why is it so cold in here?" Despite his winter clothing, Love Heart shivered as he stepped inside the rink, his new black figure skates tightened around his feet.

"Gotta keep the rink cold," Confidence Heart opened the door and carefully stepped onto the ice rink. She skated out a short distance and turned around, "Com'on, it's safe."

Love Heart wobbled on his skates, making a clack with each tiny step of the blades on the concrete, until he reached the gate and grabbed the wall to steady himself. Love Heart took a deep breath as he stepped over the barrier onto the ice. Once he thought he was stable he put his second foot on the ice then let go of the wall and his legs immediately split apart as his feet slid in opposite directions.

"OWOWOWOWOW!" Love Heart tried to regain his balance only to slip and fall flat on his back, sliding a short distance away.

Confidence Heart giggled and skated over to where Love Heart lay, spread eagled, on the ice. "It takes some getting use to." She offered a hand to Love Heart, which he accepted to help him stand again.

Love Heart was still wobbly on his skates as Confidence Heart took his hands. "Follow my lead. Move your feet in a V shaped, one at a time. Go slow until your comfortable." Love Heart nodded as he followed Confidence's instructions, his feet still wobbling as he tried not to slip.

Once Love Heart felt a bit safer on his feet he looked up at Confidence Heart, who was skating backwards effortlessly, "Why are you so good at this? I thought you hated sports."

Confidence Heart groaned, "I don't hate doing things like this, just being on a team or showing off in front of a bunch of people who are so impressed that a girl is good at the boy's sports." Love Heart didn't notice her let go of his hands as she continued.

"They why are you still on the wrestling team?" Love Heart asked.

Confidence Heart sighed, "Because I don't feel like just abandoning this thing right before it's over. I feel like I have to see it through to the end. At least practise is over until spring."

"Oh..." Love Heart averted his gaze for a moment, then turned back to see her looking off to her side. "Why did you start learning karate?"

Confidence cocked an eyebrow, "I thought I told you that. It was because kids were picking on me for looking like this and I started fighting them. Mom and dad said I could either be punished or learn martial arts to have an outlet for my frustration, so I chose martial arts."

"Do you even like it?"

Confidence snapped her head back to look at Love Heart, "Of course! Martial arts is cool, it's like being a character from shonen anime." She had a goofy grin on her face and a far away look in her eyes.

"Like Dragon Ball?" Love Heart asked.

"Yep!"

Love Heart chuckled, then looked down and noticed for the first time that Confidence Heart wasn't holding his hands. "What the? WHOA!" Love Heart looked up in time to see the edge of the rink racing up to meet him. He smacked into the wall, slipped and fell on his back. "ow…"

Confidence Heart skated over Love Heart with a concerned look on her face. "Are you OK!?"

"I've had worse." Love Heart blushed and just lay on the ice and stared up at the ceiling.

Relieved that he wasn't hurt, Confidence Heart smirked and offered a hand to him. "Com'on get up. Unless you want to lie there all day."

"Alright," Love Heart sighed and took her hand and she pulled him back to a standing position.

Now that he was standing, Love Heart glared daggers at Confidence Heart, "Why did you let go!?"

Confidence Heart wasn't cowed at all, "Because you had the hang of it."

"Then why did I fall down?!"

"Because you were thinking."

"I was… what? WHOA!" Love Heart nearly fell down only for Confidence to catch him again.

"It's muscle memory, and the centipede's dilemma." Seeing the confused look on Love Heart's face, Confidence continued, "Your legs were getting used to the motions I showed you so you didn't have to look at what you were doing, then when you looked down you panicked and started trying to control your natural movements so you lost it."

Love Heart nodded, "I think I get it… it's like magic."

"What?"

Love Heart pulled open the top of his mitten, showing that there were fingerless gloves underneath the large mitt. "Magic is hard to explain, and if I think about it I don't think I can tell you the exact way it works, mom probably can though, but I know how to do it." Sparks of blue lightning danced between his exposed fingers, "but now I know it so well I can create lightning, small lights, or even control the wind without thinking beyond what I want to do."

"Exactly!" Confidence Heart was grinning, "You have to teach me that."

Love Heart blinked as he stopped the lightning and covered his fingers again, "What?"

"Magic! I want to learn magic. Please teach me!" Confidence Heart was practically begging as she grabbed Love Heart's hands again.

Love Heart opened his mouth, preparing to say she should ask Life Heart then stopped. He saw the look in her eyes, the fierce determination and desire to learn. He smiled, "Alright, after I stop falling down."

"Deal! Now let's get back to your lesson before too many people get here." Confidence Heart nodded towards the entrance where they saw a family of four, two parents and two young children, step onto the rink.

OoOoO

Two hours of skating later and the rink had become crowded, with all the people going in one large clockwise movement. Love Heart at least had the basics down so they left as they found the forced cyclical movement annoying. They sat in a sub shop eating lunch, both had ordered foot long subs with pepperoni, ham, salami, cheese (mozzarella for Confidence Cheddar for Love Heart), lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, spinach and cucumbers.

Confidence swallowed her mouthful of sandwich and sighed contentedly, "Alright, so where do we start magic practice?"

Love Heart blinked, sandwich half-way to his open mouth, "Where? Well anywhere works. First I have to teach you how to conjure mana and that can take weeks, then it could be years before you can do anything substantial."

Confidence Heart's eyes narrowed and glinted, "I'll do it by the time I graduate."

Love Heart gaped at her, then took another bite of his sandwich. He finally swallowed, "By July? It took me over a year before I could even create any amount of electricity."

Confidence grinned, "Then I guess I'll just have to show you." She went back to eating her sandwich.

They sat in silence for almost five minutes before Love Heart spoke again. "Want to get started?"

"Right here, now?" Confidence Heart asked.

Love Heart nodded, "Sure. First you need to learn how to conjure mana." Love Heart set his hands on the table palms facing one another. Confidence mimicked his motion as he continued. "I need to show you something." Love Heart took a deep breath and took hold of Confidence Heart's hands as the star on his forehead lit up. Confidence Heart felt a tingle go up her arms then the whole room became laced in dozens of tiny blue strings.

"What are those?"

"Aether strings," Love Heart looked up, "Hmm, they're weaker than the ones back home." He looked back at Confidence who was staring at the strings, "These carry magic around the world, from nexus points and ley lines down to aether strings." He let go of her hands and the aether strings faded from view, "Now close your eyes and reach down to see if you can find a spark inside you, it might take a while but once you find it try to bring it out.

Confidence Heart nodded and closed her eyes, trying to feel for that spark Love Heart was talking about. It was faint but she could feel something deep inside of her. She strained and tried to reach for it but… it was just…out…of…reach!

After a minute of trying, Confidence was panting and she opened her eyes. "I could feel it, but I can't reach it."

Love Heart smiled, "That's OK. You know what you're looking for, that's what counts."

Confidence giggled and blushed, "Thanks. I'm gonna keep trying."

Love Heart looked around, seeing that the few other patrons were staring at the two of them, "Maybe somewhere less public."

"Alright, let's go." Confidence grabbed their trays and dumped the garbage out before they headed for the car.

OoOoO

When they got home Sweet Heart begged them to take her sledding so Love Heart conceded and took her out. There was a hill within walking distance but Sweet Heart didn't want to go alone.

Confidence Heart was feeling more drained than normal after her attempt at magic training so she decided to pull up an old game on the still set up game console in the living room. She turned when she heard the front door open and Terrence walked in.

Confidence Heart paused her game, "So, brother, how was your date?"

"Just fine, how was your date?" Terrence smirked as he took off his winter clothes.

Confidence Heart blushed and bared her teeth, ready to shoot back a loud retort, then stopped. Confidence Heart's blush remained but she smiled, "It was nice."

"Don't deny it, you two… wait what?" Terrence stopped halfway to the kitchen.

Confidence leaned back on the couch, "It was nice. I taught Love Heart how to skate, but he fell on his ass a couple times."

Terrence walked over to the couch and leaned over the back to look at his sister. "Cassandra. Do you like him?"

Confidence Heart put her hands behind her head and looked over at Terrence. "As more than a friend?" She had to think about it hard for a moment. "Yes, I do."

Terrence stood up, "OK then. Just be sure."

Confidence Heart got up on her knees and leaned over the back of the couch. "What? No decries for vengeance for the guy going out with your little sister?"

"This isn't TV. Besides if he steps out of line you'll kick his ass just fine on your own," Terrence opened the fridge, "I doubt there'd be anything left for me after you got through with him."

"Probably." Confidence Heart smiled then turned back to her game.

OoOoO

Love Heart was tired, sweaty and soaked. After skating lessons with Confidence Heart and two more hours spent going up and sledding down the local hill with his little he was completely drained. At first he didn't really understand how Sweet Heart could find the act of sliding down a hill on a sled so fun until he tried it himself, then he understood completely. Love Heart was still exhilarated when he and Sweet Heart returned home, both of them grinning from ear-to-ear as they stripped off their soaked winter clothes.

A few minutes later Love Heart and Sweet Heart had changed into clean, dry sweaters and were sitting on the couch with mugs of hot chocolate with their parents. Before Love Heart had come home Sarah and Adrian had got up and took their children out for lunch; Sage Heart and Life Heart had opted to remain home until their children returned and just to eat at home. Sweet Heart almost scalded her tongue on her first sip which prompted Life Heart to blow on it to cool it down for her.

Love Heart was cradling his mug and staring at his brown reflection in the surface of the liquid. Seeing his son's face, Sage Heart put a hand on Love Heart's shoulder, "Love Heart, is something wrong?" Sage Heart had a concerned look on his face.

Love Heart snapped his gaze to Sage Heart, "Huh? Oh sorry just thinking about Confidence Heart."

"Why are you thinking about Confidence Heart?" Sweet Heart asked.

Love Heart turned back to his mug as a blush crept onto his face. "Because I like her."

"Huh?" Sweet Heart cocked her head to one side, "I like her too, why does that matter."

Life Heart placed a hand on Sweet Heart's shoulder, "Sweet Heart, what your brother means is that he likes her the same way your father and I like each other."

This did nothing to sort out the confusing thoughts in Sweet Heart's head, "So they're gonna get married and sleep together?"

Love Heart's blush became luminescent, "Maybe…" He turned back to Sage Heart, "Dad, how do I tell her?"

Sage Heart chuckled, "Heheh, sorry son but I can't help you there."

"Living together on an isolated island made things different for your father and I," Life Heart said before she took a deep drink of her hot chocolate. "But I do have some advice based on what I used to see humans do. Try giving her a gift of some kind, flowers seem to be the standard choice, and take her out to dinner somewhere. Then just tell her how you feel and what you like about her."

"OK." Love Heart was still unsure but it was somewhere to start at least. "How about tonight?"

"Don't rush it, Love Heart. Take some time and plan it out," Sage Heart said.

Love Heart nodded then took a drink of his now cooled hot chocolate.

OoOoO

Love Heart had all week to plan his date with Confidence Heart, even with babysitting jobs he had to keep up with every day. It was Friday when Love Heart had arranged for the day off to pick up Confidence Heart from school. He stood outside the front door of Confidence's school as the bell rang. Dressed in winter clothing Love Heart didn't feel very… romantic? Was that the right term for this? Nevertheless, he wasn't going to back out now. At least his rattling nerves could be disguised as shivering from the cold.

The bell rang and a few minutes later the students started shuffling out. Even with her ears pulled under her coat's hood, Confidence Heart easily stuck out. Love Heart was about to call out to her when Confidence spotted him.

"Hey Love Heart!" Confidence waved as she darted towards him, stopping right in front of him. "Why are you here? Just to pick me up?"

Love Heart blushed and nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to take you out for supper."

Confidence Heart blinked then stared at Love Heart for a moment, until a jeering voice shattered the spell.

"Aww, is that your boyfriend?"

The voice was Stuart's, probably his lamest attempt to make her feel insecure. Confidence Heart whirled around, ducking to grab a handful of snow that she used her momentum to hurl right in his face.

"You're killing the moment!" Confidence Heart shouted, satisfied when she saw Stuart cleaning off the snow. "Sorry about that. Where did you have in mind?"

Love Heart was still smiling after watching her hurl the snow in Stuart's face. "Just a Japanese place I found called Wasabi, a few blocks that way," Love Heart pointed down the road to his left.

"Sounds good, let's go." Confidence Heart took Love Heart's hand and they walked off.

Stuart had finished cleaning off his face and was about to set off after the couple, only to be stopped by one of his friends, who shook his head and told him not to bother antagonizing them.

At the restaurant Love Heart Bear and Confidence Heart Fennec sat on barstools around a tall table with a bowl of stir fry and rice in front of them. While Confidence Heart was digging in, Love Heart was just poking at his food and wondering what he should say.

Confidence Heart swallowed her own mouthful, "Not hungry?"

"Huh? Oh sorry!" Love Heart started shoveling food into his mouth, then his eyes went wide as the spice hit his tongue and he tried swallowing water to cool his mouth.

Confidence Heart would have to have been blind to be miss the signs. She smiled. This wasn't going to be so bad.

When Love Heart finished coughing and regained his composure Confidence spoke up. "I like you Love Heart, a lot," she took one of his hands. Love Heart stared at her for a moment. Confidence was smiling. "I like how you're honest with your feelings and that you're willing to help out when other need it and how much you've helped me regain my own confidence, and this," Confidence Heart pulled down her collar far enough to show off her chest symbol.

Love Heart smiled, "You're so full of energy and life and confidence and you're the most interesting person I know. I love you Confidence Heart."

Confidence Heart stiffened, she hadn't been expecting that! Maybe a mutual attraction or something that let them be close but love? She panicked, grabbed her coat and darted from the restaurant (thankfully they had paid before they ate). Love Heart hesitated for a moment then chased after her, grabbing his coat from the back of his chair.

Confidence Heart stood in the falling snow and tried to sort out what she was feeling. Love? Did he really feel that way about her? Did she feel the same way? What did it even mean.

"Confidence!" Love Heart shouted before noticing she was standing only a few meters away. He walked over to her and reach out a hand for her, then stopped when he saw her tormented face. Love Heart looked down at his feet, "I'm sorry, just forget I said anything."

Confidence Heart looked up at Love Heart, her eyes misty, "I can't forget that, I can't forget what I just heard."

"You could, I mean we can still hang out without it being different," Love Heart was stumbling through an attempt to diffuse the situation.

Confidence Heart's gaze narrowed and she snapped "But it's all different now! I mean we can't just go back and act like it's all the same!" She turned away from him. "It's out and we'll feel different about everything."

Love Heart put a hand on Confidence's shoulder and walked around to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry… no I'm not sorry. I mean what I said I just…"

Confidence Heart looked up at him. Love Heart was on the verge of tears but he still stared right back at her.

Confidence Heart lunged forwards into a hug and gave Love Heart a big kiss on the lips. Love Heart was startled for a moment but then he wrapped his arms around Confidence and kissed her back.

"I love you," Confidence whispered. She pulled back to look into his eyes.

Love Heart did the same, "I love you too." They stood there amidst the falling snow, then kissed once more.

When they broke apart Love Heart chuckled, "Sorry I didn't get flowers."

"That's fine. It's too cold for them anyway." Confidence Heart took his hand and they headed for home.


	9. Valentine's Day

Chapter 9: Valentine's Day

There was no alarm this morning as Sage Heart opened his eyes. He smiled at Life Heart lying across from him under the bed covers in the guest room. Sage Heart reached across to Life Heart and ran his hand under her head.

Life Heart stirred at his touch, opened her eyes and smiled, "Good morning, my love." Life Heart snuggled up closer to Sage Heart and they shared an intimate kiss.

"Do we have to get up today?" Sage Heart whispered.

Life Heart closed her eyes and sunk into her mate's embrace, "No."

"Good," Sage Heart kissed her on the cheek then traced a finger down her front. Life Heart shuddered the kissed him back.

OoOoO

"So what are you all doing for Valentine's Day?" Terrence asked the assembled group at brunch.

"What's Valentine's Day?" Sweet Heart asked, looking up from a plate full of waffles.

Sarah smiled, "It's a day where you spend your time with the one you love."

"Granted it's mostly an excuse to sell a ton of chocolate that people give to their partners," Terrence took a drink of coffee.

"Love Heart and I are going to see a movie," Cassandra spoke through a mouth half-full of food.

"Can I come?" Sweet Heart asked.

"Sure." "Of course Sweet." Love Heart and Confidence responded simultaneously.

"What about you two?" Adrian turned to look at Sage Heart and Life Heart.

"Oh, well I don't know…" Life Heart blushed somewhat.

Sage Heart set his fork down, "We've always slept through this time of year but I guess we could try something?"

Life Heart shrugged, "I guess we'll think of something. What about you?"

"Sorry, that's a secret," Sarah winked as she took her empty plate from the table.

"I've got a date today," Terrence said as he drained his coffee mug.

OoOoO

"Confidence, can we borrow your laptop today? We want to find something to do tonight." Life Heart stood in front of Confidence Heart as she dressed to head out to their movie.

"Sure. There's no password just shut it down when you're done," Confidence finished pulling her gloves on, "Gotta go, Love and Sweet Heart are waiting for me." She darted out the door. Life Heart shivered at the blast of cold air before Confidence shut the door behind her. She sighed then headed to the stairs and up to Confidence Heart's room.

The internet was still a new experience for Life Heart as she stared at the search engine home page. "OK, let's try, 'Valentine's day activities'" Life Heart typed the words into the search engine and hit enter.

Sage Heart had flushed the toilet and was washing his hands in the bathroom when he heard his mate gasp. "Life Heart?" he dried his hands and he had to restrain himself from running out the door into Confidence's room.

Life Heart was staring at the screen having clicked onto a site without checking what it was first and she turned as Sage Heart entered, "Oh, h-hello."

"Are you alright?" Sage Heart put a hand on Life Heart's shoulder then looked over her shoulder at the screen. "Oh… I see. Why do humans make a big deal out of this?"

"I don't know, but it still feels odd," Life Heart admitted, "Do you know what we should do today?"

"Well let's take a look. How do I do this?" Sage Heart gave the screen a funny look.

"I think you need to go back first," Life Heart navigated the mouse cursor to the back arrow in the top left corner.

"Would you like to do some things like that tonight?" Life Heart looked up at Sage Heart.

Sage Heart chuckled and blushed slightly, "Maybe… do you?"

"Maybe…" Life Heart chuckled back then looked at the screen, "Oh what's that? Karaoke bar?"

"Let's see…" Sage Heart clicked on the link, "looks like a place where you sing along to songs for each other."

Life Heart smiled, "Sounds like fun. What else can we do?"

OoOoO

Life Heart shivered as she and Sage Heart stepped outside. The winter took getting used to and the fact that she was wearing a dress and had to make do with leggings while leaving her hooves exposed didn't help. She leaned up against Sage Heart as they walked down the street from the Avalon's house.

"Are you OK, Life Heart?" Sage Heart put an arm around her.

"I'm just a little cold, I'll be fine." Life Heart leaned her head against Sage Heart's shoulder, accidentally poking his cheek with her horn.

"OW!"

"Oh sorry!" Life Heart pulled her head away, blushing.

"It's alright." Sage Heart turned to Life Heart and gave her a kiss. "Too bad everything's booked."

"That's alright, as long as we can be together." Life Heart put an arm around Sage Heart's middle.

OoOoO

Love Heart and Confidence Heart emerged, hand-in-hand, from the movie theatre with Sweet Heart skipping ahead of them.

Sweet Heart stopped "So now what?"

"I'm hungry. Lunch?" Confidence suggested.

"Sure… hey look," Love Heart pointed then waved with his free hand, "HI DAD! HI MOM!"

"OOH OOH HI!" Sweet Heart jumped up and tried to hover, only to forget that her wings were under her coat. She slipped after her hooves hit the ground and fell on her rear.

"Oh dear!" Life Heart ran ahead to her daughter with Sage Heart right behind her as Love Heart and Confidence were helping her stand. "Are you alright," Life Heart took Sweet Heart's face in her hands.

"I'm fine mom," Sweet Heart grinned.

"So why are you here?" Confidence Heart asked.

"We thought we'd see a movie, then go out for dinner and whatever else we want for Valentine's Day," Sage Heart also checked Sweet Heart to make sure she was alright.

"Good luck, the theater's packed," Love Heart looked back over his shoulder at the crowded entrance.

"You'll be fine as long as you're not trying to see a superhero movie," Confidence said.

"Alright. So where are you three going?" Sage Heart asked.

"Late lunch, have fun dad, you too mom," Love Heart took Confidence's hand and they headed off.

Life Heart smiled, "They make such a sweet couple."

Sage Heart nodded, "I just hope they don't do anything reckless."

"I trust them." Life Heart took her mate's hand, "Now let's go. Today's about us."

OoOoO

Pop was too sweet for Life Heart so after one sip she gave the rest to Sage Heart who took a drink then tossed it into the garbage before running back to get cups of water for both of them. The popcorn proved to be a more appealing snack as they sat in the mostly empty theater, waiting for the movie to start. They had passed two massive lineups of people waiting to see the superhero movie Confidence had mentioned but neither of them paid it much mind.

The movie was funny and Life Heart and Sage Heart were still laughing as they left the theater. Instead of trying to go somewhere that would probably be full, they detoured to a restaurant nearby called "Smitty's". It had more of a diner feel to it as Life Heart and Sage Heart sat in the glass covered section of the restaurant and looked up at the snow falling on the glass.

"This isn't as romantic as I would have liked," Sage Heart looked over the menu.

"I know, but it's still nice," Life Heart set her menu down. "Are you alright?"

Sage Heart set his menu aside, "I am, it just feels weird doing this 'dating' thing."

Life Heart nodded, "I know, living in the human world is so confusing. I still can't get used to being stared at," she looked over at a child who was pointing at her while tugging on their mother's sleeve, then turned back and smiled at Sage Heart, "But this is nice. It hasn't been just the two of us since Love Heart was born."

Sage Heart reached over and squeezed her hand, "I know. It's nice to just have some alone time." They both giggled only to be interrupted by a young male server.

He had a smile plastered on his face that faded with a slight start as he saw who he was serving but quickly regained his composure, "Are you ready to order?"

Life Heart scrambled to pick up her menu, "Oh yes, I'll have a large tossed salad and some of the soup. What is it?"

"Cream of potato and mushroom."

"That's good then."

"And you sir?"

"Hmm?" Sage Heart pondered the menu for a moment, "I'd like to give the fish and chips a try."

"Alright, that's and all you can eat special. Just ask for more fillets when you're done." The server took their menus, "Anything to drink."

"Just water," they replied together.

"Alright, that will be a few minutes." The server took their menus and left, only to return a moment later with a water pitcher and fill their empty glasses with ice water.

"So what are we going to do after this?" Sage Heart asked before he took a drink.

"I'd like to try that karaoke bar we read about, it sounds like fun," Life Heart smiled. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"Well…" Sage Heart got a sly grin, "I honestly want to spend some alone time again tonight, just the two of us," his voice dropped to a husky whisper.

Life Heart giggled and blushed, "Oh my! I supposed it's been a while hasn't it."

Sage Heart nodded, "Can't be helped. We've been busy for over a decade, and now with work we're too tired most nights."

"And neither of us have been in the mood either." Life Heart sighed then sat back in her seat.

When their food arrived Life Heart dug in instantly, made a funny face but ultimately found it satisfying. Sage Heart stared at the fried shell of his fish fillets. "Am I supposed to take the shell off or just eat it?"

Life Heart swallowed the soup in her mouth. "I think you're just supposed to eat it as is."

Sage Heart sniffed then grimaced slightly, "Smells like it's been deep fried. Oh well." Sage Heart cut about a quarter of the fillet off, blew to cool it off, then tentatively put it in his mouth. The crunch and grease was too much for him and Sage Heart let the piece all onto his plate. "Yeech! I can't stand this deep fried stuff. Hmm?" He looked inside the remaining fillet and stuck his fork in the white fish, pulling out a chunk. He took a careful bite and sighed, "Not bad cooked I guess." He proceeded to dig the fish out of each fried shell and eat just the contents, leaving the deep fried batter on his plate. He tried eating the French fries but found them equally fried and unappealing.

"You can share mine," Life Heart offered, pushing her salad towards Sage Heart.

"Thank you," Sage Heart gratefully took a forkful of salad and chomped on it, relishing the taste of vegetables. Life Heart took another spoonful of soup then pushed her bowl towards Sage Heart, who accepted it gratefully.

Despite the expense, Sage Heart decided to order an extra meal identical to Life Heart's, which he also shared with her. Both of them decided they could afford to splurge tonight, after being frugal most of their lives.

Life Heart had her arm around Sage Heart as they left the restaurant, "That was better than I thought. Now on to karaoke!" She picked up her pace and started to drag Sage Heart along until he caught up to her pace.

The karaoke bar wasn't nearly as packed as most of the places they had passed along the way. Most of the people inside were young single adults though there were a few couples. A woman was on stage singing a song about fireworks when Life Heart and Sage Heart walked in. A few stared at the unusual couple but neither Life Heart nor Sage Heart paid it any mind; they were used to such reactions.

The bartender gave them a curious look then asked, "So what will it be?"

"Just water for me," Sage Heart said.

Life Heart picked up the drink menu, "Let me see… I'd like to try the blueberry beer if there's any left, no ice." She reached into one of the pockets of her dress (something Confidence Heart had added for her) and pulled out her wallet.

"Of course." The bartender accepted Life Heart's money and poured her drink.

Sage Heart just stared at his mate, mouth agape, "You drink?"

Life Heart nodded "I have in the past. Humans had to drink beer in the past, it was safer than water before they figured out how to pasteurize." Life Heart thanked the bartender as her drink was placed in front of her and took a sip. She shivered but smiled, "It's good. Do you want some?"

"Maybe later," Sage Heart turned to look at the stage as the current singer finished warbling something he was unfamiliar with.

"What's something good I can sing?" Life Heart had already drank half the glass as she looked up at the bartender.

"Hmm, well for you I'd stick to the Disney catalogue," the bartender pulled a binder out from behind the bar and set it on the table then flipped to a page full of songs. Life Heart grinned as she browsed the song list, taking more mouthfuls of the blueberry beer as she did so.

Eventually, Life Heart chose a song and got up as the current singer gave up the stage. Life Heart stumbled slightly as she walked up to the karaoke machine. Life Heart grinned and waved to the bar, "Hiiii! I'm Life Heart Unicorn and I'm going to sing umm…" she turned to the machine, "Oh right, 'I just can't wait to be king!'" She hit the right button and picked up the microphone.

" _I'm gonna be a mighty king_

 _So enemies beware_

 _Well, I've never seen a king of beasts_

 _With quite so little hair,_ heeheeheehee!" Life Heart giggled as she tried to keep up with the lyrics on the screen.

Sage Heart watched and couldn't help but snicker as Life Heart kept forgetting to read the lyrics and devolved into giggling fits a few times during the song.

"I'm not surprised someone so skinny is such a lightweight," the bartender had leaned over the counter to watch Life Heart. "She your girlfriend?"

"She's my wife," Sage Heart held up his right hand with the simple golden band on his ring finger.

"You're lucky."

When Sarah and Adrian were helping them settle in, they had suggested that Sage Heart and Life Heart get married. Neither of them considered the idea a big deal, as they didn't put much stock in the human traditions when they were already mates and still used the term to refer to each other. Sarah had explained that them being legally married would make a lot of things much smoother for them, following the laws of society at least. So they had gone to city hall and filled out the paperwork to be recognized as a legal married couple. It had ben a bit of a struggle, as had the whole registry process for being considered legitimate citizens but they had done it. To seal the deal, they had gone out and bought a pair of wedding rings, just two cheap simple gold bands but that was all they needed.

Life Heart finally gave up towards the end of the song, too giddy to sing properly as she stumbled off stage to several laughs and some applause at her antics. Life Heart stumbled back to her seat, still giggling, "That was fun!" she whooped and spun around on her seat to face Sage Heart, "How was I?"

Sage Heart couldn't suppress a laugh, "A spectacle. I thought unicorns didn't like drawing attention to themselves."

Life Heart blushed and giggled then leaned towards Sage Heart, "Not this unicorn anymore. So are you gonna sing?" Life Heart had leaned forwards with her nose practically under Sage Heart's chin.

"I don't know," Sage Heart helped Life Heart to steady herself before she fell off the stool, "I don't think I could top that performance."

"Oh come oooon! I wanna hear you sing!" Life Heart begged.

Sage Heart smiled then glanced at the still open binder on the counter, "If you insist, Life Heart," he gave her a quick kiss, making her giggle, then stood up and headed to the stage. It didn't take long for Sage Heart to find the song he wanted to sing and he picked up the microphone where Life Heart had dropped it. He fixed his mate with a sensual look as the music started to play.

(song: together forever)

" _If there's anything you need_

 _All you have to do is say_

 _You know you satisfy everything in me_

 _We shouldn't waste a single day_

 _So don't stop me falling_

 _It's destiny calling_

 _A power I just can't deny_

 _It's never changing_

 _Can't you hear me, I'm saying_

 _I want you for the rest of my life_

 _Together forever and never to part_

 _Together forever we two_

 _And don't you know_

 _I would move heaven and earth_

 _To be together forever with you_

 _If they ever get you down_

 _There's always something I can do_

 _Because I wouldn't ever wanna see you frown_

 _I'll always do what's best for you_

 _There ain't no mistaking_

 _It's true love we're making_

 _Something to last for all time_

 _It's never changing_

 _Can't you hear me, I'm saying_

 _I want you for the rest of my life_

 _Together forever and never to part_

 _Together forever we two_

 _And don't you know_

 _I would move heaven and earth_

 _To be together forever with you_

 _So don't stop me falling_

 _It's destiny calling_

 _A power I just can't deny_

 _It's never changing_

 _Can't you hear me, I'm saying_

 _I want you for the rest of my life_

 _Together forever and never to part_

 _Together forever we two_

 _And don't you know_

 _I would move heaven and earth_

 _To be together forever with you"_

As the song faded Sage Heart stepped off the stage and breathed hard, feeling as though steam were rising off him. There were a few cheers and clapping from the bar patrons, to them this was just another night of amateurs. He hadn't been perfect but it had felt sincere since it was a night for him and Life Heart.

Life Heart's drunkenness had settled as she watched and listened to her mate sing. She was staring lustily at Sage Heart as he approached her. Before he could say anything, Life Heart jumped out of her seat and pulled Sage Heart into a deep embrace and kiss.

There were a few "Oooohs!" from the bar patrons but the couple didn't notice.

"You were amazing," Life Heart cooed then kissed him again.

Sage Heart felt his heart beating faster as he kissed back, sweat starting to bead under his fur (a somewhat inconvenient feature of the fur covered care bear body). "Th-thank you." Sage Heart freed a hand and fanned his face, then found himself yanked along as Life Heart pulled him by the arm. Sage Heart barely had the time to grab their winter clothes before they were out the door.

The blast of February's winter air hit both of them and seemed to calm Life Heart down, but only a little as she pulled Sage Heart away from the bar's window. "You're such a sweet bear," Life Heart pressed another hot kiss to Sage Heart's face. "I love you soooo much!"

"I love you too," Sage Heart kissed Life Heart on the neck then nuzzled into her fur.

"Oh my!" Life Heart was literally steaming in the cold air. "No time!" She pulled Sage Heart into a deep embrace, there was a bright flash and they were gone.

OoOoO

Sage Heart and Life Heart reappeared in their room at the Avalon's house, still holding one another. Sage Heart felt a bit dizzy from the unexpected teleport.

Life Heart wasted no time, grabbing their winter clothes and throwing them aside before she pushed Sage Heart towards their bed. Sage Heart stumbled a bit, not used to his mate being so aggressive as he fell back onto the bed. Life Heart reached down and pulled her dress over her head then reached back and undid her bra. Sage Heart got the message and pulled his shirt off just in time as Life Heart descended upon him.

"I love you," Sage Heart kissed her as she pressed up against his chest.

Life Heart broke the kiss, "I love you, oohhmm…" Life Heart kissed him again, her tail swishing back and forth as she leaned in farther.

Sage Heart reached up to stroke Life Heart's ears, sending a shudder down her spine. "I didn't know you were sensitive there," his whispered.

"Oh yeeeees!" Life Heart sighed and wiggled her ears in his grasp then leaned down, trailing her slender fingers down his sides. Her look became hungry as she kissed him again, hooked her fingers into his pants and underwear as she pulled them down and off, her magic automatically reacting to remove his boots. Sage Heart responded in kind and removed her underwear.

"Don't stop."

OoOoO

Life Heart awoke in the middle of the night, still lying sideways across the bed. Life Heart had a mild headache and was shivering from the cold air passing through the sweat caught in her fur. She looked down at Sage Heart and smiled, then kissed him on the cheek. Sage Heart's eyes opened and he smiled up at her, "good morning."

"Not quite." Life Heart put a hand on her forehead, "now I remember why I don't drink." Life Heart pushed herself upright then rolled off him. "But I still loved what we did."

"Which part?" Sage Heart smirked.

"All of it, except my attempt at singing. But you were great up there," Life Heart smiled. "Don't know if I'd get a drink next time."

"I'd like it if you did," Sage Heart turned to face her.

Life Heart blushed, "Maybe… I don't know how I feel about letting my inhibitions go again. But if I ever get in the mood again…" Life Heart stood up from the bed. As she headed for the door she felt Sage Heart's arms wrap around her from behind and around her chest.

"Where are you going without any clothes on?" Sage Heart whispered huskily in her ear.

Life Heart giggled, "To shower. We stink." She smiled, "but I'd love it if you came with me."

"Though I doubt we'll get very clean if I do," Sage Heart chuckled.

"We will," Life Heart turned her head and they kissed again.


	10. Trials of the Heart

Chapter 10: Trials of the Heart

"So, you're pregnant?" Sage Heart Bear and Life Heart Unicorn were standing in their room. Sage Heart had his arms folded and was glaring at his wife.

"Maybe," Life Heart touched her index fingers together, "I mean I could be."

"Do you want to be? Do you want to have another child?" Sage Heart leaned forwards and Life Heart averted her gaze from his.

"Um, yes."

Sage Heart groaned, squinted and put a hand to his forehead, "And you didn't even think about asking me?"

"Well… I was scared," Life Heart held her hands together and lowered them down to in front of her stomach.

Sage Heart looked back up at her, "Scared about what? That I would say no?"

"Yes!" Life Heart had turned to look him in the eyes.

"What?" Sage Heart just stared back at her, one of his fists clenched as he started to seethe, "You didn't ask because you were scared I'd say no?!"

"Yes I was!" Life Heart raised her arms, "I was scared you would say no because we were talking about how little time we have together with Love Heart and Sweet Heart around. Would you have said no?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean…" Sage Heart took a deep breath to calm down, "I wouldn't have said no if you asked if we could have another child."

"Oh… well…" Life Heart twiddled her fingers together, "Do you mean it?"

Sage Heart nodded, "Yes."

"Then… why are you mad?" Life Hear stepped forwards and took Sage Heart's hand.

Sage Heart raised her hand and gave it a small kiss, "Because you didn't ask."

"But it's my body," Life Heart withdrew her hand from his and turned away from him.

Sage Heart stepped up behind Life Heart and put his arms around her, "I know, but it's our family. If you want to have another child I'd like that but please, trust me and just ask."

Life Heart started to cry, wiping some tears from her eyes, "I'm sorry I just… You were right that we wouldn't have any time for ourselves if we have another child."

"We can make time," Sage Heart gave Life Heart a kiss, "Besides I loved raising Love Heart and Sweet Heart, and this time we can try raising them in the city."

Life Heart giggled, "Yes, we can. If I'm pregnant."

"If?" Sage Heart leaned over her shoulder.

"Well… I don't know if I'm pregnant yet. I just think I might be after Valentine's Day. I haven't had morning sickness, but Sweet Heart didn't give me any so… I don't know." Life Heart turned her head to face Sage Heart.

Sage Heart smiled, "Well we can always keep trying. After all, trying is one of the fun parts."

Life Heart giggled, "Yes, it is," she and Sage Heart kissed.

OoOoO

Confidence Heart was only wearing a top and pyjama pants as she skipped downstairs and poured herself a bowl of corn flakes, after which she plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV.

"Good morning Squirt," Terrence looked up from his morning newspaper, still wearing his housecoat.

"Not squirt anymore," Confidence looked over her shoulder, "as of today I'm an adult."

Terrence smirked, "An adult on paper, you're still a squirt to me."

Confidence Heart growled but turned back to the anime that was playing on TV. Confidence felt her mind wandering, unable to focus on the show in front of her as she slowly ate her cereal. By the time she finished, Love Heart had come downstairs to join her, wearing only a pair of pyjama shorts.

"Good morning, Confidence," Love Heart took a seat next to Confidence on the couch, "What's on TV?"

"Huh?" Confidence looked up at the TV, "Dragon Ball Z Kai."

Love Heart turned to Confidence with a look of concern, "Is something wrong?"

Confidence Heart opened her mouth and then shut it again. She took a deep breath before she spoke, "Yes, there is." Confidence put a hand on her chest, right over her chest symbol, before she continued, "Remember when you told me you loved me, back before Christmas?"

Love Heart felt a chill run down his spine, "Yes."

Confidence took another deep breath, "When you said you loved me after I just said I liked you, I panicked because I wasn't sure how you could feel that way so fast. I had to get outside to I could process what you told me and when you came outside… I said I loved you because I was afraid I'd break your heart if I didn't say otherwise."

Love Heart just stared at her, "W-what?"

Confidence chuckled half-heartedly, "Heheh, one time I stopped being confident heh. You're fun to hang out with and to show you all the stuff you missed out on growing up in a cave. You know, I think I might have fallen for you, for real." Confidence turned her head, only to see a shocked and slightly angry look on Love Heart's face.

"What did you think I would do if you just stuck with liking me until you were sure?" Love Heart asked.

"Well… uhhh, I don't know," Confidence grinned nervously.

"I don't know either." Love Heart stood up. "Why did you lie to me?"

"Hey! I made one mistake and I think I do love you now." Confidence Heart stood up too.

"Well I don't know if I do. I need to shower and go for a walk." Love Heart stormed off up the stairs.

Confidence tried to follow him, only for Terrence to block her path. "You should let him cool off, and clean up your milk trail."

Confidence blinked, "What?"

Terrence pointed behind her and she turned to see the small trail of milk droplets from the empty bowl now held sideways in her left hand. "Just get some paper towels and clean it before anyone else gets up."

As she was cleaning Confidence Heard the shower running upstairs and as soon as she was finish she headed upstairs to wait for Love Heart to finish. Love Heart stepped out of the bathroom with his now damp shorts back on his legs.

"Excuse me," Love Heart just blew past Confidence back to his and Terrence's shared room.

"Wait a minute!" Confidence tried to grab Love Heart but he slammed the door in her face. Confidence just stood there for a minute, then sighed and headed to the bathroom.

After getting dressed, Love Heart slipped past the bathroom while Confidence was still busy, upon hearing the toilet flush he tensed for a moment, until he heard the shower start. He headed downstairs and shoveled some cereal down his throat before deciding to go for a walk. He had a lot to think about.

"Where's Love Heart?" Confidence scanned the main floor as she stepped downstairs.

"He went out, didn't say where." Terrence was still at the dining table. Terrence took a big drink of coffee as he watched Confidence hurriedly grab for her shoes. "Do you know where he is?"

Confidence paused, one shoe on and the other about to be laced up. "No, but if I leave now I should be able to find him."

"Or, here's an idea, you could wait for him to cool off and think things over instead of charging at him without thinking, like you did when you said you loved him." Terrence refilled his coffee mug.

"But he's being ridiculous, I said-"

"You told him you lied to him and then said you didn't, at best you confused him and at worst you made him mad." Terrence took a drink from his filled mug, "Then again he decided to tell you he was in love after only one real date and he decided to run off instead of talk to you about this. As far as I can see you were both idiots."

"Hey!" Confidence glared at her brother.

"Well you were. Let him be and think about what you want to tell him when he comes home. In the meantime, why don't you just relax and enjoy yourself birthday girl." Terrence walked over to Confidence and ruffled her hair before he headed upstairs.

Confidence glared at his back and straightened her hair, but she had to concede that he had a point, "Alright fine!" She all but tore her shoes off her feet and trudged over to the couch where she slumped down. The TV was still on but was past the shows she liked to watch. Confidence sighed and turned the TV off before she headed up to the attic to retrieve one of her old favorite anime DVDs to watch.

OoOoO

"Happy birthday!" Sweet Heart glided down the stairs and plopped down next to Confidence Heart on the couch, "What'cha watching?"

"Sailor Moon Super," Confidence turned her head sideways to look at Sweet Heart for a moment then back to the TV.

Confidence Heart Fennec's birthday was rather low-key. With no school friends to invite over and nothing she really wanted to do, other than lie around the house all day and watch her favorite season of Sailor Moon, the day passed with relative ease. Every now and then Confidence looked up to see if Love Heart was around and gave a sad sigh when she saw he wasn't there.

By 5:00pm, Love Heart still hadn't come home and everyone was starting to get worried, despite this they still went ahead with Confidence's birthday supper: homemade pizza and Caesar salad.

Right as they sat down for supper they heard the front door open. "Sorry I was gone so long."

"Love Heart!" Confidence was out of her chair and at the front door in an instant, not even giving Love Heart a chance to undo his shoes before she hugged him. Love Heart returned the hug almost immediately and held it for a full minute.

"Happy birthday, Confidence," Love Heart said. "I got you something."

"Oh?" Confidence released him and Love Heart handed her a DVD box.

"Sorry I took so long but I wasn't sure what you'd like."

"Tenchi Universe," Confidence looked at the DVD cover, then lowered it and chuckled, "I never really got into this franchise."

"Sorry… I don't know much about anime." Love Heart scuffed his feat awkwardly.

"That's alright, thank you." Confidence shuffled awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I should have been honest about how I felt from the start."

Love Heart averted his gaze from her for a moment, "I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have run off…"

"Alright, if you two are done having your little make-up party there is food here," Terrence called from the table. Confidence stuck out her tongue at her brother but tossed the DVD box on the couch and pulled Love Heart over to sit down for supper.

OoOoO

"How does just one of Mihoshi's hairs make the robot into a clone of her?" Love Heart was trying to piece together what he was watching on screen.

Confidence shrugged, "I don't question it, HAHA! On man!" Confidence cracked up as the robot in question started chasing the main characters around, shooting lasers out of an emblem over her chest. Love Heart couldn't help but laugh as well and leaned up against Confidence. Confidence smiled and leaned back against him.

"I love you, for real," Confidence said.

"For real?" Love Heart turned his head to face her.

"Really," Confidence turned to face him. "I panicked before but now, spending all this time with you, hanging out, dating, and trying to learn magic, I really love you."

Love Heart smiled and gave Confidence a brief kiss, "I love you too. Sorry I overreacted."

"Sorry I lied," Confidence kissed him back. Love Heart turned and they embraced and kissed again.

As the episode ended, Confidence checked the clock, "Yeesh, almost midnight. At least we didn't wake anyone up."

Love Heart yawned. "I'd better head to bed then, good night Confidence." He stood up and headed for the stairs. As he heard the TV shut off behind him, Love Heart heard Confidence running up the stairs. He felt her hand grab his arm and he turned to face her.

Confidence was giving him a sultry hooded eye glare, what some would call bedroom eye. "Please, come with me tonight," she whispered.

Love Heart blinked and blushed. "I- I- I-."

Confidence smiled and drew closer to Love Heart, pulling him into a strong hug as she pressed her lips against his. Love Heart responded in kind, he couldn't help but notice that Confidence was just as tall as he was (without counting her ears), or that she was moving to kiss his neck.

Love Heart sighed and carefully pushed Confidence away. "I'm sorry, but not now."

"What?" Confidence's eyes shot open.

"What if someone finds us in the morning?" Love Heart turned away, "But thanks for the offer."

Confidence sighed, "yeah… I guess. Good night." Confidence gave Love Heart a quick kiss then went back to her room. Love Heart smiled then went to the room he shared with Terrence.

OoOoO

Confidence sat facing Love Heart in her backyard, her hands facing each other and her eyes closed. She grit her teeth and chased the light deep within her. It kept eluding her, darting just out of reach each time. She sighed and relaxed her muscles, "I still can't do it…"

"You're getting better," Love Heart reached over and touched her shoulder.

"How can you even tell?" Confidence sighed and her head drooped, "It feels like I'm constipated and can't force it out."

Love Heart grimaced slightly at her words, then sighed. "Well then… I guess we need some roughage."

Confidence and Love Heart snickered. "Alright, so what do I do? Relax and let the magic flow through me, like the force?"

Love Heart stared at her then it hit him, "Oh you mean like from Star Wars? No you can't just let it come to you, magic takes real effort to learn. But maybe you're just pushing in the wrong way, hmm…" Love Heart held a hand to his chin for a moment, "It's hard to say what worked for me exactly, but I do know that as soon as you figure out exactly what to do and grab a hold of that spark for the first time it becomes a lot easier."

Confidence nodded, "OK, let me try it again. I need to focus on reach the magic alone," Confidence set her hands apart again and closed her eyes. This time she was determined not to give up until she got it. She started chasing the light again, but this time she reached out for it specifically. It was still hard, she had to force herself each step forwards but this time she cut through all the fog around her and beelined straight for the light. She reached for it, farther, and farther, and… she got it!

Confidence opened her eyes and she saw it, the faint shimmering cloud between her hands. "Wow…" she whispered.

"You did it!" Love Heart clapped his hands on Confidence's shoulders.

"I know, but… this feels so strange and…" Confidence yawned as her cloud of mana dispersed.

Love Heart helped her to her feet, "It takes a lot out of you the first time. But you just need to work at it and you'll get better."

Confidence nodded as she leaned up against Love Heart, "OK," She gave him a small kiss on the cheek as they headed back inside the house.

OoOoO

"Com'on, why can't I go in?" Love Heart stood in front of a teenage girl with pigtails wearing orange and yellow reflective vest.

The girl barred his way, "I'm sorry, but only students are allowed on the campus." She had repeated the phrase about six times now. Love Heart glared at her and she gave him a smug grin.

"Just let him by," Confidence Heart seemed to materialize behind the girl and grabbed her shoulder, making her go rigid.

"But, Cassandra, the rules say-"

Confidence forcefully turned her around and gave her a death glare, "I say: he's my boyfriend and he came to watch me practise so let him through."

"You can't date-"

"I'm 18, I'm an adult, I can date whoever I want," Confidence leaned in close and pressed her nose against her face, "got it!" She nodded and stepped aside to let Love Heart pass.

Love Heart looked back over his shoulder as he followed Confidence to the gym, "A little rough on her weren't you?"

Confidence snorted, "Please, that bitch throws her 'authority' around all the time. I've been looking for an excuse to rip into her for a while now. Besides," She smirked, "If you're willing to show up and watch me suffer I shouldn't let her stop you."

"It's not suffering, I like watching you," Love Heart smiled and gave Confidence Heart a kiss.

Confidence stuck out her tongue, "Perv." Love Heart laughed and stepped onto the bleachers as Confidence joined her teammates on the floor for practise.

Love Heart watched as Confidence lined up against one of her teammates. After coming to her practices for a while, Love Heart was starting to pick up the basic rules of wrestling: two opponents faced each other on the mats and instead of striking one another they would grab each other and try to force the other to the ground, or throw them if they had the leverage and strength to do so, and each successful maneuver would award points, though he still didn't know how the points were scored throws seemed to give the most, and at 10 points the match was over, or if the time ran out the highest score was the winner.

Confidence had remarkable strength for her size, Love Heart watched her perform what was known as a grand-amplitude throw: throwing an opponent up and back onto the mat from a standing position (the highest scoring move in wrestling, worth 5 points).

His family had gone for medical testing a few times since they moved in with the Avalons and the doctors told them that their bodies were remarkably durable: with bone and muscle density at least twice that of humans of their size. There were more details but that was the important message Love Heart got from those visits: they were built to handle physical stress.

"Alright, Cassandra, take five." The coach ushered her off the mat. Cassandra grinned then skipped over to where Love Heart sat on the bleachers.

"Enjoy the show?" Confidence asked as she plopped down next to Love Heart, sweating and panting.

"Just watching you work and sweat." Love Heart sniffed and wrinkled his nose.

"Not a fan of the sweat?" Confidence leaned back in her seat.

Love Heart smiled, "Not the smell, but I like seeing you shimmer." Love Heart reached over and squeezed Confidence's strong arm muscles, "and seeing you use these."

"Oooh, you like those do you?" Confidence raised both her arms and flexed.

Love Heart smiled, "yes." Love Heart flexed his own right arm and Confidence reached over to feel his bicep.

"Not bad, but you could use some time on the benchpress." Confidence winked at him. "I'll let you into the weight room after practise."

"Sounds good."

"Cassandra, you're back up!" The coach called.

"Well, here I go," Confidence and Love Heart shared a quick kiss then she darted back out to the mats.

OoOoO

It was the start of May when the wrestling tournament was to be held, and Confidence made sure everyone knew. Her distaste for sports hadn't changed and she showed a mixture of aggravation at being forced to participate in the tournament and relief that this would be the last time she'd ever have to do this.

"Will you be here?" Confidence was leaning up against the wall as she spoke into her brother's cell phone.

"Sorry, dear, but we're stuck in rush hour traffic, and it doesn't look like it's going to let up soon." Sarah's voice came over the phone. "Can you ask Terrence to record everything we're not there for?"

Confidence sighed, "Alright, see ya later. Love you mom." Confidence hung up and handed the cell phone back to Terrence. "Mom says they're gonna be late and to record everything."

"Not surprised." Terrence took the phone back, "shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Yeah, yeah. Cheer for me." Confidence turned and headed for the locker room.

Terrence found Love Heart, Sage Heart, Life Heart and Sweet Heart seated in the bleachers near the sides of the ring. "Mom and dad are gonna be late so I have to record everything." He held up his phone sideways and switched to the video camera.

"That's too bad. I'd hope they were here to see this," Life Heart was watching the teams assemble with intent.

"Why are you so excited?" Sage Heart turned to look at his wife.

"I haven't seen wrestling as an event since the days of the Greek Empire. I miss the Olympics," Life Heart sighed wistfully.

"They still host the Olympics every two years. They alternate summer and winter," Terrence said, still focused on the wrestling teams.

"Really?" Life Heart sounded giddy.

"What are the Olympics?" Sweet Heart looked up at her parents.

"A huge sporting event where athletes from all over the Greece compete for the glory of the Olympian gods." Life Heart said.

"These days it's an international competition where athletes from all over the world compete for recognition," Terrence added. "They change the place every time and there are new sports. Ever heard of bobsledding?"

"No I haven't. What is it?" Life Heart averted her gaze from the ring.

"Four people run a large sled down a snow-lined trench then jump into the sled and compete for the fastest time. I'll show you some videos tonight." Terrence hit play on the video camera as the matches begun.

Love Heart found it hard to concentrate on the ring as the matches progressed and most of the time he felt like he was on the verge of falling asleep. Only when Confidence Heart was in a match did he wake up and cheer for her. Confidence Heart heard Love Heart cheering for her and smiled, pressing into each match more fiercely than she ever had. She may have hated showing off for the crowd, but not for Love Heart. She liked showing off for him.

Confidence's performance was exceptional, her first two matches in the tournament (which was between 16 different schools) were flawless, won without taking a single point against her. The third match was more difficult, against another girl wrestler from the other school and she lost the first point.

"Keep going, Confidence! You can do it!" Love Heart shouted.

Terrence smiled over at Love Heart, then his phone started vibrating. Terrence grumbled but stopped the recording.

"Where are you going?" Sage Heart asked.

"Phone call. Tell me what I miss," Terrence said as he stood up and stepped out of the gym.

"Alright, whoever this is it better be good. I'm missing recording my kid sister's tournament for my parents."

"Mr. Terrence Avalon I presume?" The voice from the phone answered with a practised calm.

"Yes, that's me." Terrence rolled his eyes, "Get to the point."

As Terrence listened, his eyes turned from annoyed to somber. "What…?" He almost dropped his phone. "should I come? I see… Can it wait an hour? My sister's still finishing her tournament. Thanks, we'll be there later." Terrence hung up his phone and leaned against the wall. "Shit. Why…?"

Confidence managed to stand up after being forced down, the score was 8-6 against her. She lunged again, grappling against her opponent.

"You're out of your league, furry!" her opponent grunted. "I can beat anyone, that's why I'm the captain."

"No way!" Confidence focused all her strength into her legs and managed to lift her opponent off the ground, up and over, then slammed her down on the mat.

"Five points, match over 8-11!" the referee called.

Confidence grinned and swiped her forehead, "Ha! That was fun, you're good."

"Shut up…" the other girl grumbled and marched off the mat.

Confidence rolled her eyes and rejoined her teammates. Stuart was still smarting from the defeat he'd been handed but nevertheless they one the semifinals and now just had to wait for the last pair of teams to finish.

Terrence re-entered the gymnasium and took a seat next to the other Care Bears. He didn't pull out his phone to record.

"You missed it. Confidence did one of those huge throws and broke the tie her school had." Love Heart kept his eyes focused on his girlfriend and her team.

"Yeah, I knew she'd do it." Terrence's reply was hollow as he watched.

Only Sweet Heart seemed to notice. "Aren't you gonna record the rest?"

Terrence shook his head. "Not until she's the one wrestling again. Just watch the teams Sweet Heart."

Sweet Heart looked up at Terrence's eyes. He seemed so far away and she could almost feel his sorrow. She shivered slightly but turned back to watch the rest of the tournament.

Confidence Heart felt a bit cheated by the finals. Her last match had been a real struggle, she wished they had been the final match they had fought that night but instead she and the rest of her team breezed through their final matches without breaking… well without breaking any more of a sweat than they did already. Confidence took a seat after her match and grabbed her water bottle, draining it in one long gulp.

When it finally ended, Confidence stood up on the 1st place podium with the rest of her teammates. She ignored the death glares from the bronze medalists, the school from the semi-finals, as they received their gold medals, well… steel medals painted gold. Confidence looked out and smiled as she saw Love Heart cheering for her, and the rest of her new friend as well and Terrence… was just clapping politely.

Ever since Confidence Heart got her chest symbol the emotions of others had become much clearer to her. It wasn't that they acted any different but she could just…see it somehow and she couldn't ignore it.

Despite this, Confidence felt immense relief as she stepped off the podium. "And I'm finished! All done forever!" She literally jumped for joy and ran over to the bleachers. Love Heart hopped down and opened his arms, catching Confidence in a big hug and kissing her.

"Yay!" Sweet Heart jumped up and hovered for a moment before landing. She turned to Terrence, whose expression had become deadly serious.

Confidence let go of Love Heart and turned to Terrence. "Too bad mom and dad didn't make it. Did you get everything?"

Terrence winced as she spoke, then turned and slunk out of the gymnasium. Confidence, Love Heart, Sage Heart, Life Heart and Sweet Heart followed after him, with Confidence stepping forwards.

"What happened," Confidence felt an icy claw in her chest.

Terrence's hands were trembling, "It's mom and dad… they were in a car accident."

Everyone gasped. "What? Are they alright?" Confidence felt the claws closing around her heart.

Terrence's eyes misted over as he turned to face his sister, using the heel of his palm to wipe tears from his eyes. "They're dead."

"Wh-what?" Confidence felt her legs go weak.

Terrence's expression finally broke and he looked up at her, his eyes full of tears. "They're dead, Cassandra, they're dead."

The claws snatched her heart and Confidence fell to her knees and started crying.


	11. Solace

Chapter 11: Solace

"Are these your parents?" The coroner stood over the two bodies on the table.

Terrence had to fight back the urge to hurl as he looked at them, "Yes. Can I go now?"

"Yes, I just needed you to confirm." The coroner turned back to his work as Terrence left.

Cassandra hadn't come.

After Terrence had told her what happened Cassandra had run off on a combination of tears and anger. He didn't have the energy to go after her but he still had work to do and this was the sad part of it. He got into what used to be his mother's minivan and looked at the folder on the passenger seat. He'd have to deal with that when he got home. He put a hand to his face and let some tears leak from his eyes, then dried them and started up the vehicle. Time for grief later, he had to make sure nothing fell apart.

OoOoO

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

After hearing the news from her brother, the grief in Confidence Heart had been overwhelmed by a darker emotion. She tore her medal off her neck, charged back into the gym and hurled her medal and shouted at the assembled gymnasts and coaches, the medal landing on the gym floor halfway between her and the group.

The entire gym fell silent and stared at seething fennec fox who had tears running down her face that was contorted in rage and grief.

"I'm sorry, miss Avalon, but what do you-"

Confidence Heart cut off the speaker, "You're stupid fucking wrestling team! I never wanted to join but oh no I'm a tomboy so I had to play a sport or I wasn't a real tomboy! Now my parents are dead because I have to come to this shit-filled fuckfest of a tournament and… and…" Confidence's rage subsided and she started to break down and cry, "They're gone, all because I couldn't quit even though I want too." She felt her legs wobbling, then looked back up at the assembled wrestlers, coaches, judges and audience. Most of the looked horrified, some indignant, and a couple tried to approach her. Confidence Heart grit her teeth and started sucking in air through her teeth.

"I HATE ALL OF YOU!" she turned and ran out of the gym and the school.

Love Heart Bear had been nearly bowled over twice by Confidence Heart as she charged both ways, and he gave chase when she left the school. Sweet Heart Pegasus didn't understand what was going on but she saw Confidence Heart's medal land on the gym floor and flew to retrieve it before going back to her parents.

"Mom, dad, what's going on?" She clutched the medal to her chest as she looked up at Life Heart Unicorn and Sage Heart Bear.

Sage Heart fumbled in his speech as he spoke, "It's… hard to explain but… Sarah and Adrian are gone."

"Gone? Where did they go?" Sweet Heart was being led outside by her parents as she spoke.

"They went away, forever." Life Heart took a deep breath, "I can't really say where they went but they can't come back."

"Why not? Is it too far away?" Sweet Heart looked down at the medal in her hands, "Can't we just go see them?"

"No, we can't… Dead means… it means…" Sage Heart struggled to find the right words and Life Heart wasn't doing much better. "It means the left their bodies behind and went somewhere we can't follow for hopefully a long, long time."

"I don't get it. How did they leave their bodies behind?" Sweet Heart asked.

"It's not something I can really explain, Sweet Heart," Life Heart put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "I'll do my best tomorrow but let's go home."

"How do we do that?" Sage Heart stopped and stared at the old junker of a car Confidence Heart had driven them in, "I don't know how to drive."

"I guess we'll have to walk then," Life Heart said before they headed for home.

OoOoO

Confidence Heart ran. She ran as tears streamed down her face. She ran until she felt her legs burning and each step sent a lance of pain through her foot. How she steered around everyone on the sidewalks she didn't know but she found herself in a city park. Finally, Confidence Heart felt her legs give out and she collapsed on the grass, crying her eyes out and loudly sobbing and she grabbed handfuls of grass and pounded at the ground.

"Confidence, can I-"

Confidence Heart felt a hand on her shoulder and instantly rolled over and punched, and hit Love Heart right on the nose.

Confidence Heart's eyes went wide, "Love Heart! I'm sorry, I…"

Love Heart had a hand over his nose, "Ow! What the hell!" Love Heart glared at Confidence, but softened when he saw her tear-streaked face. Love Heart knelt down next to Confidence and carefully put a hand on her shoulder. "Can I help?"

Confidence opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was hoarse cry and she latched onto Love Heart and cried into his shoulder. Love Heart hugged Confidence and rubbed her back. A few people came around to see what was happening and Love Heart just told them that Confidence needed time to let it all out.

After over an hour Confidence's cries had dwindled to sniffles and she was able to speak. "It's all my fault."

"What?" Love Heart pulled back enough to look Confidence Heart in the face, or at least he tried as she had her head bowed.

"I should have quit; I shouldn't have asked them to come. If I had they would still be alive." Confidence Heart sniffed and rubbed her eyes, trying to clean the tears out.

"Don't say that, it's not your fault," Love Heart pulled her into another hug. Confidence didn't reply. Love Heart tried to smile and failed, "Want to head home?"

"OK." Confidence and Love Heart stood up and walked back towards the school.

"I wanted them to be proud of me," Confidence Heart whispered as they walked.

"What?" Love Heart turned to look at her.

"I wanted mom and dad to be proud of me." Confidence Heart took a deep breath, "After I kept getting into fights in school I wanted to show them that I could do something useful by fighting. That's why I didn't quit, or at least part of the reason. I just wanted to show them that I could…" Confidence wiped a couple more errant tears from her eyes.

The sun was disappearing over the horizon by the time they got back to the school and got in the old junker of a car.

"Can you drive?" Love Heart asked as he buckled himself in.

Confidence Heart buckled in and started the car. "I'll manage." She took a deep breath, shifted into reverse then backed out of her spot and drove for home.

Confidence didn't say anything as she pulled into her driveway and got back inside. Terrence wasn't home yet but Sage Heart, Life Heart and Sweet Heart were. When Confidence walked past the living room, Sweet Heart got up and dart over to her.

"Confidence," Sweet Heart grabbed Confidence Heart's sleeve and held the gold medal up to her, "Why did you throw this away."

Confidence Heart's eyes hardened for a moment until she looked back at Sweet Heart. Confidence Heart's eyes softened and she took the offered medal, sticking it in her pocket, "I'm sorry, Sweet Heart, I just… sorry but I just need to be alone." She carefully pulled her sleeve free from Sweet Heart's grip and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Love Heart walked up behind his little sister and put a hand on her shoulder.

Sweet Heart looked up, "Is Confidence going to be alright, big brother?"

Love Heart shook his head, "I don't know."

OoOoO

Terrence was up late. There was paperwork spread across the dining room table that he had to sort out. He yawned then took a drink from his travel mug full of coffee, to avoid accidentally spilling over the papers.

The sound of his phone ringing broke him out of his trance and he checked the name on the screen before he answered. "Hi James."

James' higher pitched voice answered back, "Hi, Terrence. I heard what happened. Are you holding up alright?"

Terrence sat back in his chair, "As much as I can. Cassandra's not taking it well at all so I have to handle all the practical problems."

"How did it happen?"

"Drunk driver crashed into them." Terrence stared at the ceiling, "They didn't survive either."

"Want me to come over?"

Terrence managed a small smile, "No thanks, I don't need any cute distractions right now. I just want to get as much of this done as I can tonight."

James chuckled. "All right. I love you."

"I love you too," Terrence hung up then went back to the papers. He tried to focus for over an hour before even the coffee wasn't enough to keep him going and he went to bed.

OoOoO

Confidence Heart didn't want to go to school. She especially didn't want to go to school the very next day after the accident and especially since Love Heart couldn't come with her. She trudged past schoolmates without giving them a second glance, just trying to get to her class.

"Hey, watch it freak!" The voice came from Stuart as she bumped into him.

"Shut it!" Confidence Heart snapped back.

Stuart glared at her, "Oh by the way, real nice last night at the gym last night. What happened, couldn't stomach the whole macho man wrestling-"

"GRAAAH!" Confidence Heart couldn't restrain herself and hurled herself on Stuart. The overdeveloped teen was taken aback especially when Confidence started trying to bite him in addition to kicking and punching. Everyone stared at the two as Stuart started to fight back until Coach Wilson and the girl's gym teacher arrived and managed to pull them apart.

"Alright, both of you to the principal's office now!" Coach Wilson let Confidence Heart go. Confidence just glared at him then marched towards the office. Stuart grumbled but followed after her.

The principal sat across from the two at his desk. "I'm deeply disappointed in both of you. Stuart, I've talked to you about antagonizing other students before and we'll talk about this later. Now Cassandra, I heard about what happened last night and while that's no excuse for starting a fight in school I will give you some leeway this time, but I insist you see our guidance councillor after school today. Other than that, you may go to class."

"Fine…" Confidence stood up and left Stuart to his punishment.

School passed in a haze, especially when she had to listen to some of her teachers talking about exams. She wanted to just bolt, the only thing that kept her in the class was the thought of having to repeat her senior year.

OoOoO

"Terrence, what are you doing?" Sage Heart looked over the paperwork on the table.

Terrence looked up, "I have to organize things for the funeral, see who's coming, make sure everything's set up."

"Are you alright?" Sage Heart looked up at Terrence.

"I just have to suppress until everything's taken care of." Terrence sighed, "I'll manage."

"Alright, just don't hurt yourself," Sage Heart turned and left.

OoOoO

The funeral was thankfully brief. Confidence Heart got to see her extended family for the first time in years, if only it had been under better circumstances. Confidence sat in silence as she listened to the priest read their rights then sat quietly in the car as they drove to the gravesite then helped to carry her parents' coffins to their graves.

Confidence Heart stared at the closed coffins for a moment as other family members set bouquets of flowers on the headstones. Finally, she stepped forwards and pulled the gold medal she'd won from the pocket of her black dress pants and set it on her father's coffin. "I hope, you can still be proud of me," she whispered before she stepped back to watch the coffins be lowered into their graves.

Love Heart stood nearby with his parents and little sister. He wanted to approach Confidence as everyone started filing away from the gravesite until an older man in a business suit approached them.

"Excuse me, Terrence and Cassandra Avalon." His voice drew the siblings' attention to him. "I'm sorry this is abrupt but I am the executor of your parents' will. If you have time I need you to come with me to resolve the matter of inheritance."

"Alright, might as well get this over with," Terrence sighed, still keeping his face straight.

His boyfriend, James, stood next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. James was a fairly skinny young man about Terrence's age with short platinum blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes behind a pair of large round glasses. "Be strong, Terr, I'll still be here for you."

Terrence nodded then gave him a kiss, "Can you drive them to the reception please, Jamie?" He nodded towards Love Heart, Sage Heart, Life Heart and Sweet Heart.

"I can. See you later," James left with the other Care Bears while Terrence and Confidence followed the executor to his office.

OoOoO

"Alright, I'll make this as quick as possible and I have good news for you at least." The Executor held up a hand to forestall questions, "Before you ask, in this line of work 'good news' is when the will is clear and simple enough that there are no severe hang-ups between the inheritors and the government." He pulled out the documents and set them on his desk in front of them. "From Adrian and Sarah Avalon: We leave all of our savings and any money from insurance, after a funeral is paid for, as a result of our death to be divided evenly between our two children: Terrence Avalon and Cassandra Avalon. All of our legal possessions and property are to be given to both of our children to be divided amongst themselves as they see fit." The executor took a breath, "There are a few more lines to avoid claims from outside sources but you shouldn't have much trouble with the banks."

"Thank you. Can we go to the reception now?" Terrence asked.

"Yes, you can. I will be in contact," the executor said.

Confidence had stayed silent throughout the reading and only glanced at the will briefly before they were allowed to leave. She got into the passenger seat off the minivan and waited for Terrence to start the car, but he just sat in the driver's seat.

"At least we won't have any money problems," Terrence said, "Mom and dad's life insurance paid out double because of accidental death and even after the funeral expenses we'll be fine."

"Is that all you can think about?" Confidence Heart was staring into her lap.

Terrence sighed and leaned back I the seat, "No, it's not. But I'm trying to keep it together," Terrence felt his arms start to shake and he folded his arms and gripped them, "I just need to keep it together until everything's done and-" Terrence couldn't hold back the tears anymore and the started streaming down his face.

Confidence Heart turned to her brother with a look of shock, "Terrence?"

Terrence took in a deep shuddering breath, "I-I can hold it together just until we get home. I promise we'll make it through this, Cassy, I just don't know how."

Confidence Heart looked away for a moment, then asked, "How did they die?"

"Drunk driver ran them off the road," Terrence said.

"Did he live?"

"No. He would have lost three limbs if he survived but there were complications in surgery."

Confidence Heart grit her teeth, "Good."

"Cassy?" Terrence dried his eyes and looked over at his sister.

"Just let me have this!" Confidence shouted, "If he was still alive I…I…" Confidence shook her head, "nevermind. Let's just get to the reception before we're missed."

Terrence dried his eyes, "Alright, let's go."

OoOoO

The reception was nice and held at a party hall outside of town, but Confidence still didn't want to be there. She exchanged platitudes with cousins, aunts and uncles and ate sparingly from the buffet until she couldn't handle it anymore and stepped outside. Confidence sat on the front steps of the building and just stared out at the countryside.

"Can I sit here?"

Confidence looked up to see Love Heart standing there in his plain black suit jacket and dress pants. For the first time in days, Confidence Heart smiled, "Yes, please."

Love Heart smiled back then sat next to Confidence on the steps. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped and shut it again. Finally, he found the right words, "What are you going to do?"

"About what?" Confidence turned to Love Heart.

"Your life, I mean…" Love Heart faltered. "I wanted to ask how you feel but I guess…"

"It's fine." Confidence leaned back, supporting herself with her arms, "I guess just finish school now and then… I don't know." Confidence sighed, "I have to see the guidance councillor twice a week after school," Confidence narrowed her eyes, "I don't want to spend any more time at that school, I'd rather spend my time with you."

Love Heart couldn't help but smile and put an arm around Confidence. Thankfully she didn't object, "Thanks."

Confidence sat forwards and turned her head to look at Love Heart, "So how do you feel about this?"

Love Heart scrunched up his mouth in a quizzical look for a moment, "Honestly, I don't know. When your mom's an immortal unicorn and your dad used to be a wild animal death isn't something you talk about much. I only barely understand the idea and Sweet Heart? I think mom is still trying to find a way to tell her what it even means."

"Oh…" Confidence looked down.

"But I'm here for you so… if you need anything…" Love Heart wasn't sure what else to say.

Confidence looked up, smiled and then kissed him.

Love Heart blinked, "What?"

Confidence embraced him, "I just want to make sure you're still here."

Love Heart hugged her back, "I am. I'm still here Confidence."

OoOoO

"I'm pregnant," Life Heart whispered into Sage Heart's ear as they stood at the reception. James had left earlier with their children and Confidence Heart.

"You're sure?" Sage Heart whispered back, his voice quivering with excitement.

Life Heart nodded, "I found out two days ago but I wanted to wait to tell you until this was finished."

Sage Heart's face lit up in a bright smile and he hugged Life Heart. "This is amazing, thank you."

Life Heart giggled, "You did it too so thank you." She gave him a kiss.

"So do you know what it's going to be?" Sage Heart asked.

Life Heart shook her head, "Neither sex nor species, it's too early to tell any details. Besides I want to be surprised again."

"I'm sure we will be. I'm sure everyone will be," Sage Heart gave her a kiss.

OoOoO

Sweet Heart was exhausted by the day's events, so much so she didn't have the energy to climb or fly up the stairs. It was with some hesitation that Confidence Heart carried her to her parents' old room and lay her down on their former bed. She looked around the room and felt herself tearing up again. Surrounded by their now almost faded scent she could barely contain her tears again and swiftly exited the room.

Love Heart had waited at the top of the stairs for Confidence to put Sweet Heart to bed. He saw her come up the stairs, tears staining her face. Love Heart wasn't sure what to do, until Confidence Heart grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a deep kiss. "Stay with me," she whispered.

"I will."

Love Heart and Confidence were still kissing as she pulled him into her room, discarding clothing as she went until both of them were only in their underwear and on her bed. Confidence Heart was leaning hot and heavy into their kiss, until Love Heart pulled back.

"Confidence wait! Do you really want to do this?" Love Heart pushed Confidence off and held her at arms length above her.

"I do. You don't?" Confidence Heart used this moment to undo and toss away her bra.

Love Heart couldn't help but stare as his hormones went crazy and he pulled Confidence Heart into a deep passionate kiss that she was only too willing to join in and they practically tore the last of each others' undergarments away, claimed by the passion of the moment.

OoOoO

Life Heart and Sage Heart decided to extend their evening by going out to have their personal celebration while Terrence decided to call it a night. James had offered to stay over but Terrence just said that he wanted some time alone for the moment. Terrence leaned up against the front door of his house and finally let all his emotions out, bawling like a baby where no one else could see him. It was almost an hour before Terrence was recovered enough to climb the stairs and head to bed.

When he entered his room Terrence noticed that Love Heart wasn't there, lying on the air mattress that had been set up there for so long. He knew exactly where to look and when he got to his sister's room he only had to crack open the door and take a quick sniff of the stench from inside to know what had happened. Terrence shut the door, too drained to do anything about it tonight. He'd deal with it tomorrow.


	12. Life Moves Forwards

*WARNING*: While this chapter is not filler this is where I find myself unable to avoid more explicit material. This is where Love Heart and Confidence Heart's relationship becomes more passionately physical and while I don't describe everything this may push things too far. Read at your own risk but remember that there is story and character development in there as well as sex.

Chapter 12: Life Moves Forwards

Confidence Heart sat on the exam table in her doctor's office and glared at Terrence, who was seated on one of the spare chairs. "Why do you have to be here?"

"So I can get the news and, if needed, help you plan your future around this." Terrence matched his sister's glare then turned to watch the door to the exam room. Confidence Heart just sulked as she waited for the doctor to return.

Thankfully it wasn't long before their doctor returned. "Ahh, Cassandra. The test is done and I have some good new for you: you're not pregnant."

Terrence and Confidence Heart both heaved a massive sigh of relief. "Thank god, that's that last thing we needed right now," Terrence had a hand over his chest.

"Unfortunately that's not all the news I have," their doctor interrupted their revelry. "I noticed something and went over previous tests you'd given us and I have some unfortunate news for you. Cassandra, you have a condition known as endometriosis. It's not pleasant and you're fortunate to not have any painful symptoms." He produced a file folder and handed it to Confidence Heart, "The details are in there but in summary: it's going to be nearly impossible for you to get pregnant and even if you do there's a high chance you will miscarry the child before it's born. Even if you successfully carry a child to term it will be a very painful experience."

Confidence just stared at the folder in her hands and then looked up at her doctor, "Anything else?"

The doctor shook his head, "Otherwise you're just as healthy as you were at your last checkup. Just take what I've said into consideration."

Terrence and Confidence Heart were quiet as they left the office and got into the minivan. It wasn't until they were stopped in front of a train track that Terrence decided to speak.

"So how to you feel about this, Cassy?"

Confidence Heart gave her older brother a surprised look. Then looked down at her lap. "I feel ecstatic that I'm not pregnant, as to the other thing… I don't know. I mean on the one hand I don't have to worry if Love Heart and I keep sleeping together."

"Seriously? That's all you can think about?" Terrence groaned.

"Hey!" Confidence snapped, "and no I just… I had fun and I want to keep doing it if I want but…I hate this…I mean I take good care of myself and now I find out that something in me is broken, something doesn't work, and it's something I can't do anything about…" Confidence rubbed her eyes to clear away some dampness, "And what if Love Heart says he wants kids, then what?"

"Do you think he'll leave you over that?" Terrence watched as the train's caboose finally pulled past and waited for traffic to start moving again.

"Not for a second, but still…" Confidence sighed.

"Well at least you're thinking about it." The train finally passed and allowed traffic to move on.

OoOoO

"We need to leave."

Love Heart was sitting with his family in the Avalon' living room. Life Heart's right hand rested on her just now visible baby bump. Sage Heart sat next to Life Heart on the loveseat with his right arm over her shoulders and Sweet Heart sat next to her brother on the couch. All three were staring at Love Heart.

"Leave? What do you mean, big brother?" Sweet Heart asked.

"We've been sitting on our asses for almost a year now, just living here, working and… nothing else." Love Heart looked at his little sister, "It's been fun but we have a job we're supposed to be doing: we have to find the Kingdom of Caring and help the Care Bear Family, that's what we were supposed to do, right?"

Sage Heart and Life Heart exchanged a look, then turned back to their son. "I see your point, but what if we can't find them before I give birth?" Life Heart asked.

"What if we never find them? What will we do then?" Sage Heart added.

"If we can't find them by then, we'll settle down somewhere else, or even come back here," Love Heart pumped a fist in the air. "But we will find them! I know we will!"

"That's right!" Sweet Heart jumped up and hovered in the air, "We'll find all the Care Bears and save the world!"

"Maybe not that far but you've got the right idea," Love Heart chuckled. "I'm going to ask Confidence to come with us too."

Sage Heart chuckled, "I'm not surprised. So we're not leaving until she graduates then?"

Love Heart nodded, "That's the idea. I'm going to ask her tonight."

"Are you gonna get married?" Sweet Heart asked.

Love Heart blushed, "Someday."

"Yay!" Sweet Heart did a flip in mid air then landed back on the couch.

OoOoO

"I saw the doctor today." Confidence Heart sat on her bed with Love Heart.

"And?" Love Heart leaned over to look Confidence Heart in the face.

Confidence sighed, "I'm not pregnant and I might never be." She turned to face Love Heart, "I have a condition called endometriosis. The details aren't pretty but the effect is that it's going to be very difficult for me to get pregnant, and if I do there's a good chance I'll miscarry." Confidence Heart started to cry.

Love Heart just stared as her and then gave her a hug, "Hey. It's alright."

"No it's not!" Confidence Heart pushed Love Heart off, "Something inside me is broken and I can't fix it!" Confidence hugged herself as her body starting shaking, "I-I can't help this or fix this, what am I supposed to do?" She turned her face to him with tears streaming across her cheeks.

Love Heart just stared at Confidence Heart in a state he'd never seen her in before. She was fragile, vulnerable, hurt, lonely and scared; her eyes were begging him for something, anything, to help her feel better.

Love Heart pulled Confidence into a deep hug and rested his head on her shoulder. "I'm here, Confidence, I'm here. Please don't cry." Love Heart found himself tearing up even as he tried to comfort her.

Confidence Heart couldn't help herself, despite Love Heart's insistence she started bawling into Love Heart's shoulder as she hugged him back. Confidence Heart sobbed and buried her face in Love Heart's fur and took in his scent, it soothed her and her sobbing quieted down to sniffling before too long. Love Heart rubbed Confidence's back and sighed contentedly as she let it all out.

Even after Confidence calmed down she didn't let go of Love Heart. She smiled as she took in his scent as her sadness evaporated and warmth spread through her body. Confidence Heart growled and gave Love Heart a little nibble on his neck. Love Heart winced but didn't let go.

"What?" Love Heart pulled back and Confidence dove in and kissed Love Heart hard and passionately on the lips.

"I love you," Confidence Heart said as she pushed him down on the bed and rolled on top of him. "I love you, Love Heart." Her face was a mix joy and lust as she pushed down and kissed Love Heart again.

Love Heart's brought his hands up to her back and kissed Confidence Heart back. "I love you too," Love Heart replied.

Confidence Heart grinned seductively and wasted no time in removing her shirt then tossing her bra onto the ground. "I want you, now!" She growled as a primal side deep within her took over. Love Heart didn't object as her scent drove him wild. He all but tore his shirt off in the brief moment he had before she was down on him again, pressing their lips together and dragging her arms down his chest and to his pants. Love Heart's hands stroked down Confidence's shoulders and down to her pants as well.

"Mmmmm, nice," Confidence cooed as her hands traced down to Love Heart's rear. Love Heart flushed and leaned into another kiss as they pulled each others' pants off. Confidence moaned into Love Heart's mouth as they kissed.

OoOoO

Love Heart was grateful that they hadn't climbed under the covers as he and Confidence lay with their heads on the pillows. Confidence sighed and turned to wrap her arms around Love Heart, "Thank you."

"For the sex?" Love Heart turned in her grasp to face her so he could embrace her back.

Confidence Heart giggled, "No… well yes but also for staying with me and being here for everything that's happened." She gave Love Heart a kiss then released him and lay back, panting. "So hot…"

Love Heart smiled and waved a hand which created a cool breeze in the room to blow over both of them. Confidence Heart sighed and practically melted into her blankets. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Love Heart smiled and closed his eyes and let the breeze cool them.

"Confidence Heart."

"Yeah?"

"I have something important to tell you." Love Heart turned his head to face her.

Confidence Heart tensed up, "What?"

Love Heart took a deep breath, "We're leaving the city."

Confidence Heart blinked and rolled over to face him. Her eyes started to fill with horror, until Love Heart held a hand up in front of her. "Let me finish, please. We've been living in this city too long, we need to continue the mission we were supposed to do this entire time: to find the rest of the Care Bear Family and help protect them. And I want you to come with us," Love Heart rolled over to face Confidence Heart, "Confidence Heart, will you join us on our journey?"

Confidence Heart's feelings of dread evaporated and she sighed in relief as she flopped back down and smiled, "Yes, as soon as I graduate."

"You're alright with this?" Love Heart lay back and stared up at the ceiling.

Confidence Heart tried to nod but only succeeded in rubbing her long hair into the pillow, "Yeah. I don't want to get a boring office job or go back to school for eight more years, or work retail until I die. I'd rather spend my time with you."

"Thank you," Love Heart smiled and took a deep breath. His small breeze had stopped and Confidence Heart's scent filled his nostrils. His expression became hungry. Love Heart rolled over until he was on top of Confidence Heart.

She grinned up at him, "You want to go again?"

"Oh yeah." Love Heart leaned down and kissed Confidence, his hands wandering to her chest.

Confidence Heart gasped then then moaned and growled up at Love Heart as she felt her body heat up, "You love those don't you."

Love Heart growled back and leaned down, "I wouldn't do this if I didn't. Don't you like it?"

"As much as you enjoy this," Confidence Heart's arms came up to Love Heart's face and she pulled him into another kiss.

OoOoO

Sweet Heart skipped and hovered in her pyjamas into the kitchen only to find Terrence seated at the kitchen table wearing his business suit and hunched over a mug of coffee. Sweet Heart poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat next to Terrence.

"Good morning!" she beamed at him.

"For you at least," Terrence grumbled as he took a drink from his coffee. "You were sleeping in my parents' old room. You didn't have to listen to your brother and my sister…last night."

Sweet Heart looked up and swallowed her mouth full of cereal, "You mean because they were having sex?"

Terrence almost choked on his coffee and spluttered for a moment before he stared at Sweet Heart in bewilderment.

Sweet just stared back, "What?"

Terrence cleared his throat and coughed a couple times, "How do you know about that?"

"Why else would they want to sleep together like mom and dad do?" Sweet Heart took another bite of cereal and swallowed.

Terrence shook his head, "No, I mean how do you know what sex is at your age?"

"Mom and dad told me." Sweet Heart dug her spoon in the bowl again. "Am I not supposed to know?"

Terrence sighed, "I guess that's up to your parents when you're old enough to know. Why did they tell you about it?"

"Because I wanted to know where babies come from and they told me." Sweet Heart took a bite of cereal.

"Right." Terrence finished his coffee, stood up and brushed down his business suit, "I should get to work. Can't take bereavement leave forever."

OoOoO

Confidence Heart ate the sandwich from her lunch while she stood outside the back of her school. It was peaceful outside since everyone else was involved with lunchtime clubs or cramming for exams in a couple weeks. Her ears twitched and she smiled, stuffing the last of her ham sandwich into her mouth and washing it down with the last of her milk just as Love Heart skidded to a stop nearby.

"Hey, Confidence, ready for your lesson?" Love Heart grinned as he approached her.

"Always, Love Heart."

They kissed briefly then Love Heart folded his arms and became serious. "Alright, so have you decided on an element?"

Confidence smiled, "Wind, 'cause I wanna fly!" Confidence pointed into the sky.

Love Heart laughed, "Alright then, let's get started."

Despite her enthusiasm, Confidence wasn't able to conjure a single wisp of wind after half and hour of effort. Love Heart just encouraged her to keep practising and they retreated to lean up against the school and stay in the shade.

"Hey, Love Heart?"

"Yes?"

"Want to be my date for the prom?" Confidence turned her head to face him.

Love Heart met her gaze and raised an eyebrow, "What's the prom?"

"It's this big dance we have before graduation for everyone to get together and dance and just celebrate the end of high school." Confidence Heart turned to face ahead and put her arms behind her head, "I was going to skip it if I could but now that you're here," She smiled, "I want dance with you and say goodbye to this place."

Love Heart smiled, "Sure, I'd love to."

"Thanks." The warning bell rang right as Confidence spoke, "Well gotta get to class, see you later." She and Love Heart kissed, "I love you."

"I love you too," Love Heart said before he headed for home.

OoOoO

"You're leaving with them!?" Terrence shouted as he stared down Confidence Heart.

Confidence didn't flinch and stared back at her brother. "That's right, as soon as I graduate."

"But you can't, why are you doing this?" Terrence's expression was livid.

"Because I want to, Terrence!" Confidence Heart stood up and struck the table. "What else am I supposed to do? Get a fast food or retail job? Spend four to eight more soul-crushing years in school to learn how to do something I'll hate? All four of them are leaving no matter what I choose and I want to go with them."

"You just want to be with your new boyfriend," Terrence sat back down and glared daggers at his sister.

"Yeah, so what's you're point? Even if we weren't together I'd still want to go," Confidence Heart pulled her shirt collar down and exposed her chest symbol. She pointed to the blue ribbon with the heart shaped button, "I'm one of them. I've always been a Care Bear and I belong with them!" Confidence Heart was panting as she sat back down.

Terrence just sat in silence for a moment and stared at the table. "I don't want to lose you too."

Confidence Heart blinked, her blood cooled for the moment, "What?"

Terrence looked up at her. He was crying. "With mom and dad gone, if you leave then I'm going to be alone in this house. I don't want to be alone," Terrence pressed his palm into his eyes to wipe the tears away.

Confidence hadn't seen her brother like this since they were both little kids and it sent a shiver up her spine. "Terrence…" she felt herself shuddering then took a deep breath and continued. "You could ask James to move in."

"I thought about that. It might be nice, but still…I don't like the thought that I might never see my baby sister again and I'm scared about what could happen to you out there."

Confidence reached across to table to tale her brother's hand, "I know how you feel. I'm scared too, scared that I'll never see you or this place again, scared about what I'll find. But…" Confidence stopped to wipe some tears from her eyes, "I need to do this. I've grown up, I've found out so much about myself and if I stay here I'll regret it the rest of my life. We still have the rest of the week before I graduate."

"Are you going to take the old car?" Terrence raised his gaze to meet hers.

"Maybe, I thought we could just take bus rides or go on foot. Camp, sleep in hotels and stuff. I won't be taking much with me." Confidence briefly averted her gaze from Terrence. "We can use some of those old camping supplies from when we're kids."

Terrence shook his head, "No chance, too old to be safe." He stood up and tried to smile, "Let's go shopping, just you and me, try to get some new stuff for you."

Confidence Heart smiled and stood up. She gave Terrence a hug, "thank you."

"Least I can do, squirt."

Confidence chuckled, "Funny, I think I'm going to miss you calling me that."

Terrence laughed as he fished his keys out of the bowl, "Then I guess I'll have to use it as much as I can until you leave squirt."

"Hey!" Confidence stuck out her tongue at her brother before she followed him outside, "As long as we're going out, I want to rent a dress for prom."

"You're going to wear a dress, just for Love Heart?" Terrence asked as he got into the minivan's driver seat.

"For me too. I want to just give a last 'screw you' to the whole tomboy thing before I leave," Confidence snickered at the thought, "And yeah, I want to see how I clean up for this last night."

"Sure, why not," Terrence said.

OoOoO

"Why do I have to wear this?" Love Heart stood with Terrence as he helped him get his tuxedo on.

"Because my sister is going to look her best for you so you're going to look your best for her," Terrence fixed Love Heart's belt buckle around his middle as Love Heart begrudgingly tied his bow-tie on.

"Alright. Ugg this thing feels like it's choking me," Love Heart pulled as his collar to give himself more room to breathe. Terrence grabbed the tuxedo's jacked and handed it to Love Heart who pulled it on. "There, are we done?"

Terrence helped fix the end of the sleeve, making sure the cuff-links were attached, "There, now you're done."

Love Heart tried to stretch but found himself confined by the tuxedo, "Ugg, I thought this would be more comfortable."

"Don't trust what you see in anime." Terrence stood up, "Cassandra should be down soon so try to be a gentleman tonight."

"And how do I do that?" Love Heart asked as he followed Terrence out of the sewing room.

"Hold the door open for her, open the car door, pull out her chair, be polite," Terrence listed off all the etiquette requirements, "I know how she is but I think she'll appreciate, or at least tolerate, one night of that treatment."

Love Heart nodded, "Right." He stood in the entrance foyer to wait for Confidence Heart. He didn't have to wait long.

Confidence Heart strode down the stairs. She was wearing a black dress that stopped just above her feet with a slit cut up to her right hip. The dress went up her front and up to a loop around her neck, but had no sleeves and left her back exposed down to where her tail poked out over the hem of the dress. Her black high heels clacked as she stepped down the stairs. As Love Heart stared he couldn't help but notice that she had done something to her eyelashes, they were noticeably longer as she fluttered them at him.

"What do you think?" Confidence Heart asked, brushing her tail against Love Heart as she passed him.

"It's…I uh…wow." Love Heart swallowed hard to avoid stammering, "I've never seen you in a dress before, or with your eyelashes umm."

"It's mascara, that's the limit I'll go for makeup." Confidence Heart turned and gave Love Heart a soft kiss. "This is just for you, don't expect me to wear this all the time." She giggled.

Love Heart chuckled and kissed her too, "I'll enjoy it while it lasts."

"Good," Confidence leaned in closed and gave a husky whisper, "I want you to enjoy it until the end of the night." She left Love Heart slightly flustered and grabbed her runners from the closet then slipped her high heels off before heading out to the car with the high heels in hand. Love Heart darted ahead and opened the driver's side door of her old car for her.

She gave him a funny look, "Did my brother tell you to be a gentleman tonight?"

Love Heart coughed awkwardly, "Yes?"

Confidence Heart sighed then smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek, "Alright, for tonight that's fine. Just don't overdo it."

"I can't promise that," Love Heart closed the door for her then walked around to get into the passenger's seat.

The prom was being held in the huge gymnasium at Confidence's school. When they arrived, Confidence parker right near the front door in a somehow still empty spot and pulled off her runners so she could put her high heels back on. Love Heart offered a hand to her to walk her to the doors, which she accepted and didn't object when Love Heart held the front door of the school open for her.

Everyone in the gym was wearing dresses and suits and there were banners and other decorations strung up on the ceiling. Love Heart and Confidence's entrance was thankfully lost in the cacophony of music that pumped through the gym's intercom and they made their way to the buffet table that had been set up for the graduates off to the side. The same lady who had barred Love Heart's entrance from watching Confidence Heart's wrestling practise tried to tell Love Heart to leave, as he wasn't a student, but it took only a fierce glare and growl from Confidence to make her back off.

Confidence smirked as she filled her plate with luncheon meats, cheese and a couple buns, "I'm not letting her ruin our date tonight."

Love Heart chuckled, "I love that about you." He gave her a kiss on the cheek which made her blush as she waited for Love Heart to grab a plate full of meat and fruit. They took a seat at one of the round tables, where Love Heart pulled out the chair for her, that had been set up for the graduates to eat at.

Both ate carefully, neither wanting to foot a massive cleaning bill for their rented clothes, as they watched other couples and singles dance on the floor.

"Do you know how to dance?" Love Heart asked.

"Not really? Do you?" Confidence Heart popped a piece of cheese into her mouth.

Love Heart stared up at the ceiling, "Nope. So what do we do tonight?"

Confidence smirked, "We wing it when we hear a song we like." She closed her eyes and listened to the somewhat generic pop playing on the speakers. Confidence's ears perked up as the song on the speaker's changed. She grabbed Love Heart's hand and dragged him towards the dance floor, "I like this song, let's dance!" Love Heart was taken aback but smiled as they joined the main body of graduates on the floor.

(Dj Got Us Falling in Love by Usher)

 _Usher (yeah man)_

 _So we back in the club_

 _With our bodies rockin' from side to side (side to side)_

 _Thank God the week is done_

 _I feel like a zombie goin' back to life (back to life)_

 _Hands up, and suddenly we all got our hands up_

 _No control of my body_

 _Ain't I seen you before?_

 _I think I remember those eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes_

 _'Cause baby tonight,_

 _The D-J got us falling in love again_

 _Yeah, baby tonight,_

 _The D-J got us falling in love again_

 _So dance, dance,_

 _Like it's the last,_

 _Last night of your life, life_

 _Gon' get you right_

 _'Cause baby tonight,_

 _The D-J got us falling in love again_

 _Keep downing drinks like there's_

 _No tomorrow there's just right_

 _Now, now, now, now, now, now_

 _Gonna set the roof on fire_

 _Gonna burn this mother fo-_

 _Down, down, down, down, down, down_

 _Hands up, when the music drops_

 _We both put our hands up_

 _Put your hands on my body_

 _Swear I seen you before_

 _I think I remember those eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes_

 _'Cause baby tonight,_

 _The D-J got us falling in love again_

 _Yeah, baby tonight,_

 _The D-J got us falling in love again_

 _So dance, dance,_

 _Like it's the last,_

 _Last night of your life, life_

 _Gonna get you right_

 _'Cause baby tonight,_

 _The D-J got us falling in love again_

 _Usher, don't lie_

 _Hear no evil, or speak no evil, or see no evil_

 _Get it baby? Hope you catch that like T-O_

 _That's how we roll, my life is a movie, and you just TIVO_

 _Mami got me twisted' like a dreadlock_

 _She don't wrestle but I got her in a headlock_

 _Yabadabadoo make her bedrock mami on fire, (psh) so red hot_

 _Bada bing bada boom Mr. Worldwide as I step in the room_

 _I'm a hustler baby, but that you knew, and tonight it's just me and you_

 _'Cause baby tonight, the D-J got us falling in love again_

 _Yeah, baby tonight, the D-J got us falling in love again_

 _So dance, dance, like it's the last, last night of your life, life_

 _Gon' get you right_

 _'Cause baby tonight, the D-J got us falling in love again_

 _Yeah, baby tonight, the D-J got us falling in love again_

 _So dance, dance, like it's the last, last night of your life, life_

 _Gonna get you right_

 _'Cause baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again_

 _Yeah, thank you D-J_

The faster paced song had everyone up and dancing, bringing the whole dance floor to life. Despite never having danced before, Love Heart and Confidence found themselves moving in sync with the beat and swinging each other around until they found themselves sweating. Far from tired they stayed on the dance floor as the song ended and there was a momentary lull in the music.

Love Heart and Confidence looked off to see that a bunch of the graduates had formed a circle around another couple that was dancing farther away from them, but they both shrugged it off, giggled and held each other.

"Not bad for your first time," Confidence Heart said.

"You too," Love Heart gave her a kiss. "What are they doing over there?"

"Probably gathered around whoever is going to be the prom king and queen," Confidence turned to look again.

"Disappointed it's not you?" Love Heart cocked his head to one side.

Confidence smiled and turned to face Love Heart again, "Nope, you're the only whose attention I want." As she spoke the music finally came back on and a slower song started playing. Confidence Heart couldn't help herself and found herself resting her head on Love Heart's chest as they started slow dancing to the song.

(I Never Had a Dream Come True, by S Club 7)

 _Everybody's got something_

 _They had to leave behind_

 _One regret from yesterday_

 _That just seems to grow with time_

 _There's no use looking back, or wondering_

 _How it could be now or might've been_

 _All this I know_

 _But still I can't find ways to let you go_

 _I never had a dream come true_

 _'Til the day that I found you_

 _Even though I pretend that I've moved on_

 _You'll always be my baby_

 _I never found the words to say_

 _You're the one I think about each day_

 _And I know no matter where life takes me to_

 _A part of me will always be with you_

 _Somewhere in my memory_

 _I've lost all sense of time_

 _And tomorrow can never be_

 _'Cause yesterday is all that fills my mind_

 _There's no use looking back, oh wondering_

 _How it should been, now oh might've been_

 _All this I know_

 _But, still I can't find ways to let you go_

 _I never had a dream come true_

 _'Til the day that I found you_

 _Even though I pretend that I've moved on_

 _You'll always be my baby_

 _I never found the words to say_

 _You're the one I think about each day_

 _And I know no matter where life takes me to_

 _A part of me will always be with you_

 _You'll always be the dream that fills my head_

 _Yes you will_

 _Say you will_

 _You know you will oh baby_

 _You'll always be the one I know I'll never forget_

 _There's no use looking back, oh wondering_

 _Because love is a strange and funny thing_

 _No matter how hard I try and try_

 _I just can't say good bye_

 _No no no no_

 _I never had a dream come true_

 _'Til the day that I found you_

 _Even though I pretend that I've moved on_

 _You'll always be my baby_

 _I never found the words to say_

 _You're the one I think about each day_

 _And I know no matter where life takes me to_

 _A part of me will always be with you_

Confidence Heart was crying. Love Heart stared down at her as they swayed back and forth, not really dancing but moving enough to keep with the song's pace.

"Confidence?"

"Don't talk, just hold me," she whispered to him. Love Heart nodded and hugged her close.

When the song ended the vote was called for the prom king and queen so Love Heart and Confidence Heart used the opportunity to retreat from the gymnasium. A moment later they were both seated on grass in front of the school as they let the cool summer night air settle on them. Both were grateful there was no wind.

"Just the graduation ceremony tomorrow and it's all over." Confidence sat with her knees bent on the grass slope downwards.

Love Heart leaned back and supported his torso with his arms. He looked sideways at Confidence Heart, "How do you feel about this?"

Confidence turned her head to face him, "About what?"

"Everything. Graduating, leaving your home with us, trying to find the rest of the Care Bear Family?"

Confidence smiled, "I feel great. I'm done with this stupid school for the rest of my life, I'll get to go on an adventure, see new places, meet new people and," she closed her eyes and leaned up against Love Heart's side, "I'll get to be with you."

Love Heart smiled and put and arm around her shoulders. He looked into her closed eyes and saw tears starting to leak out. "Confidence, are you alright?"

Confidence wiped the tears away and opened her eyes, "Just emotional…" they both leaned back until they were lying on their backs. "Did I…ever tell you about how I was adopted?"

"No."

Confidence sighed, "Well, it was 18 years ago now."

OoOoO

Six-year-old Terrence Avalon was riding with his parents in the back of a jeep along a dirt road in Africa. It was the evening in the middle of July and they were heading back to their hotel for their last night stay before they headed home. Terrence was leaning over the side of the Jeep, peering out from under a wide brimmed hat at the expanse of desert surrounding him.

The Jeep came to a halt as their tour guide and driver stopped to do a routine check on the engine. His paranoia was a bit annoying but it was better than risking a breakdown in the middle of the desert. Terrence sighed and tried to stare out at the desert, but it was mostly too dark to see anything that far away.

A terrified squeaking drew his attention as a small sandy dog-like animal with huge ears had started running towards the Jeep. Terrence was too curious for his own good and undid his seatbelt before he jumped out and ran towards the small dog-thing.

"Terrence!" Sarah Avalon had been too slow to react and jumped out to run after her son but she was too late as Terrence scooped up the small creature just in time as a screeching was heard and a huge owl dove down at them, pulling up when it saw a human holding onto its prey. Some shouting from the tour guide and the Avalons was enough to send the eagle-owl flying off, not wanting to contend with humans for a meal.

The little dog-like creature was shivering in Terrence's arms not caring that this was a human holding her, only grateful that the predator had left her alone. Terrence stood up as the tour guide and his parents surrounded him.

"Terrence, are you alright?" Sarah asked.

"I'm OK, but look, this dog's scared," he let the adults look at the animal still shivering in his arms.

Their tour guide, a middle-aged native African man, looked closer. "Looks like a young fennec fox, barely more than a baby." He tried to take the fennec from Terrence, only for the boy to shield her with his body.

"No!" he protested.

"Terrence, please you can't take a wild animal back with us. It's not safe," Adrian pleaded with his son. Part of him wanted to just take the fox from his son but he was afraid of hurting either of them.

"It can be a pet, can't it?" Terrence asked, still guarding the fennec.

"Fennecs can be domesticated, but this one is wild it will be difficult at best," their guide said.

Seeing the resolve in his son's eyes, Sarah sighed, "Let's just let him keep it for now, we can deal with it tomorrow, OK?" She asked the other two.

Adrian sighed, "Alright, let's go before the sun sets." Terrence smiled and hopped back into the Jeep with the still shivering fennec in his arms.

Sarah and Adrian peered into their son's hotel room and looked down at the small fennec sleeping on the pile of clothes their son had worn that day. Despite everything it was still oddly calm where it lay.

Adrian closed the door and sighed, "What do we do? We can't take a wild animal with us back home."

Sarah nodded, "I know, but how do we tell Terrence? I just hope he didn't get too attached in one night. Hopefully by morning he'll be more reasonable."

A voice reached the little fennec vixen as she slept on a pile of soft bedding and a bright light shone down on her through the ceiling.

" _Don't worry, little fennec. These people are kind and you will be taken care of until the day you join the rest of your kind."_

Despite her youth, those words stuck with the fennec for the rest of her life.

Sarah and Adrian were awakened by a loud banging on their hotel room door followed by the door bursting open as Terrence ran in and jumped up on their bed. "Mom! Dad! Get up! You have to see what happened to the fox!"

Sarah and Adrian had thought that the staff had quietly come in to take the fennec away while Terrence slept, to avoid an argument in the morning, based on the shock and distress in Terrence's voice. Deciding to get this over with they both threw on basic clothes and followed their son back to his room. As soon as the door opened they were greeted with what sounded like a baby's cries.

Lying on Terrence's clothes from the previous day was a baby fennec fox, but it looked almost human or like some sort of living stuffed animal. With sandy yellow fur lighter than its previous shade, a white muzzle with a valentine heart at the tip of the nose, heart shaped pads on her feet and very human hands with thumbs that were balled into fists that she flailed around as she cried out in pain and confusion.

Adrian and Sarah just stared at the baby crying in front of them for a moment before Adrian spoke up. "We need to see a doctor."

Thankfully the baby fennec had cried herself to sleep by the time they got to a local hospital. Despite being an animal they did find a doctor to examine her.

The doctor shook his head, befuddled by what he had found. "Well she's not quite human, but most of her organs and body structure are. If what little knowledge I have of fennec foxes is correct she still has a lot of the unique traits they do, fur, tail and her ears will still dissipate heat for her if she overheats." The doctor sighed and looked over to where the little animal slept. "I feel sorry for her. Once people find out about this she'll probably be taken away to see how she works like this."

"NO!" Terrence's loud shout awakened the fennec as he ran over to her and scooped her up into his arms, "She's my little sister! I won't let them take her!" the fennec had started bawling again as the doctor stared at the boy holding the fennec like a favorite stuffed animal.

Sarah and Adrian shared a quick look, then Sarah strode over and carefully took the fennec from her son and managed to cradle her like a human baby and rocked her in arms. The fennec calmed down and rested in her arms.

"Well that settles it, she's coming with us," Sarah turned to the doctor, "Any objections?"

The doctor sighed, "I won't stop you but I can't help you either. Good luck Mrs. Avalon."

"I guess we have a strange daughter now," Adrian sighed as they left the hospital as he looked at the sleeping kit in his wife's arms. "What should we call her?"

Sarah looked down at the sleeping kit and thought for a moment, "How about Jennifer?"

Terrence stuck his tongue out, "No that's dumb." Before either of his parents could admonish him he brightened up, "Cassy!"

"Cassy? Isn't that short for Cassandra?" Adrian asked.

Sarah smiled, "It sounds perfect. Cassandra Avalon."

OoOoO

"They never told me how they managed to get me out of Africa, whenever I asked they'd get these thousand-yard stares like they were having a war flashback," Confidence Heart had sat up and drawn her knees up to her chest while she relayed the story to Love Heart. She smiled, "they told me it was worth it though, they didn't give up and I was officially registered as their daughter when we got back. I wish they could be here," Confidence Heart let out a soft sob.

Love Heart sat up next to her, "Hey. I know they'd be proud of you for finishing before you leave." He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

Confidence Heart smiled, "Thanks." She turned to Love Heart and give him a kiss, "What do you say we cut out and head home?" Her voice became sultry and she whispered in his ear, "And you can see this dress on our bedroom floor."

Love Heart smiled back and whispered in what he hoped was a sexy voice, "Sounds perfect."

He helped her to stand and they made their way back to the car.


	13. Confident Passion

Chapter 13: Confident Passion

If it wasn't for the itching from the cap and gown she was forced to wear Confidence Heart Fennec would have fallen asleep from listening to the valedictorian's graduation speech a long time ago. She snorted when he said that they would all look back on their time in high school with fondness, as if she'd miss the homework, exams, peer pressure, wrestling team and Stuart. She just wanted the speeches to end so she could get her diploma and never have to deal with this shit ever again. Even after this ended she still had to wait a week before she could leave on her journey, her mind wandered back to the conversation with Life Heart the previous day.

OoOoO

"So how did you find out where we need to go?" Confidence Heart sat next to Love Heart on the couch in her living room with her arms folded and looked across at Sage Heart and Life Heart.

Life Heart pointed to the map on the coffee table, "It was rather complex but I created a spell to lead us to others of our kind. It searched for the largest concentration of the natural magic we possess and that is where they are: Regina, Saskatchewan." She pointed to a city across the Canadian border.

Confidence Heart groaned, "Great, so you all need to get passports now. Please tell me you planned for this."

"As soon as mom told us we did," Love Heart sighed, "Unfortunately the earliest we can get in is tomorrow afternoon and if we don't it'll be at least two weeks before we can go again, so we're going to miss your graduation ceremony."

Confidence smirked and put an arm around Love Heart, "Trust me, you won't miss much. If it's anything like my brother's, you'll be bored stiff before the speeches are half done."

"If you're sure." Sage Heart said.

"Please just get your registry over with so we can be out of here."

OoOoO

So that was that, and only Terrence and James had shown up to her graduation ceremony. She admitted to herself that she wished at least Love Heart was there but she meant what she had said: she wanted to be on her way before she had second thoughts about leaving. At least some of mom's old work friends were able to expedite the passport processing so it would be done in a day to a week instead of a month, granted it had been at an extra cost but thankfully the inheritance and insurance had made it a drop in the bucket.

At last the principal gave her congratulations to the graduates. Confidence Heart literally jumped for joy as she tossed her hat high up into the air. Diploma clutched in one hand she ran over to where her brother sat in the audience and gave him a huge hug. "Finally it's over!" her shout attracted a lot of attention but she didn't care, she was done with school and that was all she cared about.

Love Heart and his family were still stuck at the passport office so Terrence and James took Confidence downtown for a celebratory lunch, finding a pizza place because for once Confidence didn't give a crap about eating healthy especially as she ordered a pound of dry ribs slathered in garlic and parmesan sauce. Confidence sat and ate slowly, enjoying a taste she might not get to have again.

"Enjoying yourself?" Terrence asked, he had a small meat lover's pizza in front of him and a slice in his hand.

"Mmmhmm!" Confidence smiled, her mouth still full.

"Well you should, graduating from high school is quite an accomplishment," James said. He only had a caesar salad in front of him.

Confidence Heart swallowed. "At least we know where we're going. I haven't been to Canada before, should be interesting." She grinned, "I can't wait to see who else we get to meet."

"I still don't like this, Cassy," Terrence said. "I mean, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive," Confidence Heart nodded.

James put a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be here with you. And thanks for saving me from having to pay rent again."

Terrence chuckled, "Anytime, James." He gave the pale skinned man a kiss. Confidence smirked and rolled her eyes as she continued to eat.

They ate for over an hour, sharing stories about their lives in the city: smiles and tears, joy and sorrow, happiness and pain. Confidence Heart leaned back in her chair and laughed along with her brother and James about the humorous way the two had met when the were ten which involved a swarm of angry cats, a swimming pool full of noodles and some very expired cheese.

Confidence excused herself to use the bathroom, still giggling to herself. James leaned back in his chair, "I'm gonna miss her when she's gone."

Terrence nodded and took a drink of water, "Yeah. Me too."

A commotion from outside drew their attention. A group of people outside were gathered around and shouting about something, though they couldn't hear through the windows.

"What's going on out there?" James craned his neck to see what was going on.

"Hmm?" Terrence glanced over the crowd, then blinked. "Hey, look at that." He pointed at a gap in the crowd. James tilted his head and caught a brief glance of a head covered in orange and silver fur.

"What was that?" James stood up to get a better look.

"What's going on?" Confidence Heart emerged, shaking the last of the moisture from her hands. She looked out at the crowd as a gap showed and allowed them to see what was at the center of the commotion and spotted the creature at the center. It was a creature like her, but not of a type she recognized with a protruding muzzle full of sharp teeth, mustard yellow eyes, silver fur on the top and orange at the sides. He was wearing a black two-tailed longcoat, a grey shirt, green sweat pants and heavy brown approach boots. He turned, their eyes locked and he grinned.

He came barreling through the crowd, knocking people aside. He pulled down the collar of his shirt to expose the heart shaped bloodstone that was his chest symbol. A large silver and red double-headed axe appeared in his hand and he leapt, shattering the window with a single blow and landing amidst the glass debris on the other side. He grinned and pointed at Confidence Heart with his free left hand.

"You, rabbit girl! You're coming with me."

Confidence Heart had been stunned for a moment but now grit her teeth. "I'm no rabbit!"

He hefted up his axe, "Doesn't matter, come with me or die!" Without waiting for an answer he swung his axe at her and she dodged aside which made it cut the table James and Terrence were sitting at in half.

Confidence saw this and shouted, "RUN! GET HELP!" as she jumped through the broken window and took off. The crowd all pulled out of the way as first Confidence, then the crazy animal with the giant axe ran past them.

As she ran, Confidence Heart pulled her hair around and managed to tie it into a huge braid with a hair tie she kept in her pocket. More people cleared away as she and her pursuer kept barreling through the city. Confidence finally spotted the park and charged into it, shouting as she ran. "Crazy psycho with an axe coming through! RUN!" Most people took heed of her warning but some stayed to watch, unsure if this was real.

Confidence Heart skidded to a halt and rounded on the charging maniac, who had slowed down once they got into the park. Confidence Heart tied up her braid into a bun on the back of her head to keep it out of the way.

He sneered at her, "Giving up, rabbit?"

"Not at all. Just didn't want anyone else getting hurt." Confidence Heart took up a fighting stance, "And my name's Confidence Heart Fennec."

His sneer turned into a grin, "I'm Passion Heart Wolverine, so are you really going to fight me?"

Confidence charged and punched Passion Heart hard in the gut. "How that for an answer!?" She turned and kicked him in the side. Passion Heart reeled under her attacks and staggered back. He glared up at Confidence Heart who just stood in a ready stance. "Had enough?"

Passion Heart growled and dropped his axe, "No way in hell!" he grabbed his two-tailed longcoat and threw it off, wisps of darkness rising off his body. "You're coming with me or you're going to die!"

Confidence bared her teeth and charged, fists ready to pummel Passion Heart into the dirt. Passion Heart shout out his empty left hand and a hollow cylinder of darkness where the air seemed to compress inside fired off from his hand and struck her in the chest. Confidence reeled in pain and dropped to her knees as she felt gravity forcefully drag her to the ground.

"You can't beat gravity!" Passion Heart hefted his axe in both hands, "Now die!" he charged and swung down at Confidence Heart.

It took all her strength to wrench out of the gravity well and tear away as the axe slammed into the grass. "Gotta watch for that," Confidence muttered as she charged again and grabbed Passion's arm as he was about to pull the axe from the ground. Confidence Heart strained as she threw her whole weight into the throw as she hurled him over her head and to the ground. He thudded hard onto the grass but despite the pain he got up and roared at her. Another gravity blast flew at Confidence Heart and she just barely ducked under it.

"Hold still!" Passion Heart charged at Confidence, his teeth and claws bared. She dodged aside and punched him in the back which made him stagger slightly but he grabbed the discarded axe and swung it at Confidence Heart. This time it bit into her side and she was forced to roll out of the way. She was bleeding from the gash in her side but she used his backswing to get in close and start pummeling him hard in the chest. She threw her whole weight into her punches which forced Passion to let go of his axe, which dissolved on the ground, as she pushed him back with each blow. Her hands started to hurt as she pushed him nearly out of the park, until Passion Heart finally came back to his sense and grabbed her by the shoulders. He claws dug into her as he tried to tear into her until she kicked him hard in the groin.

Passion reeled from the blow to his nether region and released her which allowed her to back off. She tore the sleeves off her t-shirt and saw the ten points of blood on both her shoulders. Passion Heart was still in pain from her kick so she charged at him, ready to strike. Passion Heart spotted her and shot out a hand, firing off another gravity blast at her. Confidence couldn't dodge but this time she was flung backwards several feet and only just barely managed to stay on her feet.

Passion Heart roared and conjured another axe before he charged at her. Confidence was forced to retreat and found herself back on the street. At first people just stared until Passion Heart came charging towards her. Confidence charged forwards and managed to grab the haft of his axe, just barely keeping it from cutting her left shoulder. She struggled to force the axe aside but Passion Heart just grinned and pressed down harder. Confidence found her strength overmatched and the axe descended until it cut into her left shoulder. Confidence took a chance and forced the axe upwards just long enough to dive to her right, which made the axe hit the ground next to her. Confidence had trouble standing and Passion tried to pounce at her, only to get kicked in the chest and diverted up and over her.

Passion landed on all fours, like a wild wolverine, then turned and charged her right as she stood up, and sunk his teeth into her right elbow. Confidence Heart screamed in pain as he bit down harder, trying to bite through her arm with his powerful jaws. Confidence grabbed his muzzle with her left hand and tried to wrench his jaws off, but he just bit down harder. She wanted to pull away, her whole body told her to run but she knew if she did she would lose her arm. She had to do something desperate and hope it worked.

Confidence stepped closer to Passion Heart and planted her right foot, then she exerted all of her strength and forced her elbow upwards while pulling her forearms towards her. His teeth shredded her skin as she tightened her arm but she finally managed to grab her right wrist with her left hand and focused all of her strength into her arm and forcefully swung as hard as she could. Passion Heart was stunned when he felt his feet leave the ground and he loosened his grip for an instant, which was all it took as Confidence swung him sideways and slammed his head onto the pavement, forcing his jaws to let go of her.

Even without full momentum the force of Confidence's swing cracked his skull and Passion Heart's head spun. He tried to stand up again, struggling to stay awake and keep on all fours. Confidence spun around one more time and kicked out at his face, catching Passion Heart on his jaw and cracking his mouth shut and to the ground one more time. This time Passion Heart Wolverine stayed down.

Confidence Heart dropped to her knees. Tears born from pain poured from her eyes as she held her right arm, which hung at her side as it was in too much pain to move. Her whole body hurt, and not in the satisfying way exercise made it hurt. The holes along her right shoulder had tears in between them and her right elbow was a complete mess. Her left shoulder wasn't much better with both the holes and the shallow cut the axe had created not to mention the gash in her side.

Confidence heard the approaching sirens and spotted her brother and James running over to her. Despite her pain, Confidence managed a cocky grin, "I won." She finally fell over and passed out as the ambulance pulled up.

OoOoO

Love Heart would have done anything to not spend his entire day in the passport office. He'd already had his photo taken and Sweet Heart was being difficult with the camera so all he could do is sit down and wait for her to finish. He heard a ringing and looked up to his mother. Life Heart had bought a cell phone a couple days ago in preparation for their journey and had only just figured out how to use it.

Love Heart tuned out what his mother was saying and just stared at the ceiling in the windowless office, until Life Heart spoke up. "Love Heart! Confidence Heart's in the hospital!"

Love Heart didn't remember the next few minutes. He just got directions and demanded to be allowed to leave and then he was running through the streets. He didn't even notice when Life Heart came charging out of the office after him. Love Heart's magic parted the wind in front of him as he dashed through the streets, not caring about a vehicle, he had to get to her!

Even with his magic, Love Heart was out of breath when he reached the hospital and stumbled up to the front desk. "Where's…Confidence!" he asked.

The receptionist just stared at the lime green bear in front of her until James, who had been sitting in the lobby waiting for him, walked up behind Love Heart. "He means Cassandra Avalon. He's her boyfriend."

The receptionist nodded, "she's in preliminary care while the doctors decide what to do to her. You can go in and see her if…" she paused as Love Heart trotted up next to her son. "…you want. Are you here to see Cassandra too?" Life Heart just nodded, too out of breath to speak. The receptionist gave them directions but told them not to run and just to talk to the doctor.

Love Heart had to be restrained from running off to Confidence Heart's room. He was stopped by the doctor and directed to look through the window. Love Heart was aghast at the state Confidence was in, wrapped in bandages and with a blood bag slowly feeding into her arm via IV.

Love Heart saw Terrence nearby and turned to face him, "What happened?!" He was immediately shushed by a doctor nearby and Terrence glared at him.

"She was attacked by a Care Bear Wolverine. He's being looked after in a high security part of the hospital." Terrence turned back to look at his sister.

Life Heart trotted up behind them and put a hand on her son's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "Can you tell us everything?"

Terrence shook his head, "not much. We were out for lunch when this psycho wolverine shows up, crashed through the window and demanded that she go with him or die. I didn't see the whole fight but she won, or at least she knocked him out before she lost consciousness."

Love Heart had calmed down and turned to look at her. "What's going to happen."

"Ahh Terrence…Oh, are they family?" he the doctor had approached the three looking in on Confidence.

"Yes. What's going to happen?" Terrence asked.

"Well she's going to recover, except for her right arm." The doctor flipped up a page of notes, "I'm afraid the damage is extensive and the safest thing to do would be to amputate it."

"What?!" Love Heart and Terrence both shouted, Life Heart covered her own mouth as her eyes widened in horror.

"I'm sorry, but with her arm nearly ripped out of it's socket it's likely to lose all feeling and die in a few days due to the extensive tearing damage from his claws and teeth. If we don't amputate then it could go gangrenous and pose serious risk to her life." The doctor looked at Love Heart and Terrence, whose faces shifted from rage to sorrow. They turned to stare back through the glass.

"I can help with that." Life Heart had raised a hand.

The doctor gave Life Heart a funny look, partly for her statement and partly because he'd just noticed that she was a unicorn. "I'm sorry, what do you mean miss?"

"Life Heart Unicorn, and I can help her so she doesn't have to lose her arm." Life Heart clasped her hands together.

The doctor blinked, "I'm sorry miss but while I appreciate your enthusiasm to help I'm afraid I can't let an untrained person try to help our patients. Now why don't you just scoot along and let the grown ups do their work."

For once in her ancient life, Life Heart Unicorn was livid. Her eyes hardened and she gave a glare so fierce to the doctor that he stumbled backwards as she did her best to bare her teeth at him, her voice actually resonated as her horn suddenly flared up, "I am you ancient and senior by millennia, doctor, and I will not stand by while my future daughter-in-law is about to have her arm torn off! Now let me in there so I can save her!" The doctor was shaken so badly that he almost failed to open the door for her.

Life Heart would have stomped in if she didn't suddenly remember what she had to do. She looked under some of the bandages and almost hurled when she saw the horrible state that Confidence was in, but shook her head and raised her hands over Confidence Heart. She started chanting under her breath as her horn lit up and white magic flowed from her hands. Even though she was still covered by bandages, Confidence's wounds started to close and the torn flesh on her shoulders and elbow knit itself back together. Finally, Life Heart stepped back and exited the room, the doctor moved past her to give her another exam.

Life Heart slumped against the wall and slid down until she sat on the floor. Love Heart walked over to her and crouched beside her. "Mom, are you OK?"

Life Heart shook her head then buried her face in her hands and started to cry. Love Heart just stared at her until she looked up, her eyes wet. "I keep forgetting how alien such feelings are to me. I've never been so mad before and," She shuddered, "I don't know why I did that, I just couldn't stand it when I heard he was going to cut off her arm."

Love Heart found himself in the unusual position of comforting his mother, wrapping his arms around her. "It's alright. Thank you for saving her."

Life Heart nodded, "I did what I could."

"So why don't you do that more often, heal people I mean?" Terrence watched at the doctor wheeled Confidence Heart away for more tests following the healing magic Life Heart had used.

"Because it's unpleasant to feel." Life Heart looked up at Terrence, "healing magic doesn't dull the pain and, so I've learned, also repairs the nerve endings so any pain that remains, even with the injuries gone, is extreme. Magic that regenerates or even replaces limbs feels even worse and some people might die from shock if they're conscious." She smiled, "Don't worry though, Confidence was unconscious so there was no risk to her life, she'll probably be in even more intense pain than when she came in though."

"Well there's something to look forwards too." Terrence groaned.

Love Heart stood up, "Now all we have to deal with is that wolverine. Do you know anything else about him, Terrence?"

Terrence folded his arms and looked down, "No, but he seemed to be looking for you. He must have heard about you guys if he knew to look in this city."

"Then we need to leave as soon as possible." Both Terrence and Life Heart stared at the bear even as he continued, "As soon as Confidence is released we should catch the next bus to another large city and then catch the next flight to Regina from there."

"Are you serious?! I mean even if that miracle healing did the trick you want to force her to leave with now? I thought you were waiting till next week." Terrence stared, open-mouthed at Love Heart.

Love Heart stared Terrence down and raised a hand clenched into a fist. "Change of plans. What if he recovers, or he has friends who come looking for us? We need to leave now before we're in any more danger."

Life Heart managed to stand, "I agree. But we'll have to wait for our passports to leave the country."

Love Heart stopped, then sighed. "Ugg, right. Now what?"

"Since you can't do anything about it, just come back home and don't worry," Terrence said. "I just hope he stays out of commission long enough."

OoOoO

Even though Life Heart had saved Confidence from losing an arm, the shoulder joint had still dislocated which forced Confidence to leave her arm in a sling, with it being in too much pain to move and told it would be that way for a few days.

Then came more bad news, even with the favors called in only one passport could be finished. The one piece of good news was that Love Heart's passport was handed out the next morning by an office intern/delivery boy who clearly had been dragged out of bed too early to hand it over. Nevertheless, they decided to leave on the bus the afternoon following the fight and just set up a reservation at the hotel that had shuttle service to the airport they were going to leave from and wait for James to deliver their finished passports to them, as he was taking two weeks of vacation to move and relax as he settled into his new home.

Confidence Heart watched as Love Heart passed her luggage to the driver, who was loading all their bags into the undercarriage of the bus. Her right arm was still in a sling and it still hurt to move but that would pass in a few days.

"So you're really going." Terrence sat next to her in the boarding area as they waited for the call to board.

Confidence Heart nodded, "You knew I was. I have to do this," her voice was somber as she turned her head to face him. He was still staring at the bus.

"I know, Cassy" he sighed and stood up. He was on the verge of tears. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Confidence Heart stood up. She sniffed and Terrence looked at her, she was trying and failing to hold back her tears. "I'm scared."

"You're scared?" Terrence was taken aback.

Confidence nodded, "Yeah, I mean I don't know what I'm going to find out there, where this Kingdom of Caring is or how long it'll be before we find it."

"But you're still going?"

Confidence Heart nodded again.

Terrence turned to his little sister and gave her a hug. Confidence winced slightly as he squeezed her arm, but her only response was to hug him back with her good arm. They stayed like that for a good three minutes, until the bus boarding was called.

"Goodbye, big brother." Confidence Heart let go and moved to join Love Heart in the lineup for boarding.

"Goodbye, baby sister," Terrence couldn't stop the tears as he watched his baby sister boarding the bus, then he turned and walked out of the bus terminal.

Confidence Heart took a right-side window seat next to Love Heart near the front, while Sage Heart, Life Heart and Sweet Heart took a group of seats all facing each other towards the back of the bus. Confidence Heart leaned her head up against the window, letting her own tears stream down her face as the bus finally pulled out of the station. She spotted her big brother standing on the sidewalk as the bus backed out. He was crying but he still waved goodbye. Confidence Heart started to cry softly as she waved back. Love Heart put a hand around her shoulder in comfort and leaned up against her. She watched until her big brother was out of sight, then she finally turned and leaned up against Love Heart, burying her face in her boyfriend's shoulder as she cried and the bus carried them onwards.


	14. Aether Strings of Fate

Chapter 14: Aether Strings of Fate

Love Heart was shaken awake from where he in his bus seat. "Love Heart, we're here," Confidence's voice whispered in his ear. Love Heart yawned and stretched up and out from where he sat, and accidentally smacked one of the other passengers in the face.

"Hey! Watch it bear!" the man snapped.

"Sorry," Love Heart mumbled. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. The bus had come to a stop in a garage very similar to where they had departed from. Love Heart stood up then helped Confidence out of her seat before he shuffled out of the bus along with the rest of the passengers. Five minutes later they were on another bus heading to the hotel where they had made reservations.

It was late in the afternoon when the arrived at the hotel. Upon entering their suite on the 10th floor, Sweet Heart jumped into the air and flapped around the room, "Whooo!" she cried out as she landed, flapping her wings a bit, "much better!"

"Wing cramps?" Life Heart walked over to her daughter.

"Yep," Sweet Heart nodded. She looked up at her mom and to her tummy, "Can I touch?"

Life Heart giggled, "Of course." Sweet Heart reached out carefully and touched Life Heart's baby bump. It hadn't grown much in the last month but by now it was obvious to everyone that she was pregnant.

Sage Heart walked over and put his hands on Life Heart's shoulders, "Are you alright?"

Life Heart turned to look behind her, "I am, you seem better now."

Sage Heart nodded, he'd been tense during the entire bus ride, "I was just scared someone else would attack us before we got here." Sage Heart yawned, "I'm going to bed, good night, "he gave Life Heart a kiss."

"I think I'll join you. Are you sleepy, Sweet Heart?" Life Heart looked down at her daughter.

Sweet Heart shook her head, "Nope!" She put on a face but couldn't stop her eyes from drooping.

Life Heart smiled and took her daughter's hand, "Alright then, come help put mom and dad to bed then you can stay up a while, Confidence, Love Heart, you can have the other room."

"Thanks mom," Love Heart had dragged his suitcase towards the bedroom with the single bed while Life Heart led her daughter towards the other bedroom.

Love Heart and Confidence Heart parked their suitcases in the single bedroom and Confidence flopped onto the bed and sighed.

"Are you alright?" Love Heart sat on the side of the bed.

"No," Confidence yawned, "How about you, Love Heart?"

Love Heart leaned back, "I don't know."

"Hmm…" Confidence tried to sit up but couldn't find the energy and just slumped back and draped her left arm over her eyes.

Love Heart turned and lay down next to Confidence on her left. "Can I help?"

"Stay with me," Confidence pulled her arm from her eyes and took Love Heart's hand in her own. "Just until I can sleep."

Love Heart smiled, "OK," He turned and gave Confidence a soft kiss.

In the two bed bedroom, Sweet Heart lay down and tried to pretend to sleep but was out like a light before she could even think of what she was going to do. Exhausted from the trip, Life Heart and Sage Heart lay down in each other arms and were soon asleep.

Love Heart couldn't sleep. He listened to the soft snores that came from Confidence Heart as she lay next to him and just stared up at the ceiling. He glanced over to her for a moment then carefully pulled himself off the bed.

Confidence stirred and opened her eyes, "Love Heart?" She mumbled.

Love Heart turned back to Confidence, smiled and bent over, "Hey, I can't sleep so I'm just going out for a bit, OK?"

"mm'kay," Confidence Heart mumbled, "I love you."

"I love you too," Love Heart gave her a soft kiss then waited until she was asleep before he slipped out of the bedroom.

The suite was a lot bigger than Love Heart expected a hotel room to be. In addition to the two bedrooms there was a kitchenette and a small living room with a TV next to two couches that faced one another across an overlarge coffee table. Love Heart suspected that it was meant to be a dining table as well. He peeked in on his parents and sister only to find them asleep as well. With little else to do, Love Heart grabbed his wallet and one of the keys to the suite and was about to head out until he stopped and sniffed. He raised an arm and sniffed again, recoiling from the stench in his fur and on his clothes. Shower and change first, then head outside.

The setting sun was barely visible around the buildings as Love Heart stepped outside, wearing a green t-shirt with a collar low enough to expose his chest symbol, blue jeans, running shoes, and his brown cargo vest. He felt the slight breeze going through the water still caught in his fur. He shuddered slightly then checked the map he's grabbed at the hotel's entrance. "Might as well do some sight seeing."

As Love Heart walked down the sidewalk he could feel everyone stop to stare at him. He fidgeted as he stopped at a crosswalk and despite the crowd everyone kept him at arm's length. One man, less polite than the rest, stepped forwards and grabbed one of Love Heart's ears.

"What kind freaky costume is this?!"

"OW! Let go!" Love Heart yanked his head away and rounded on the man with his teeth bared.

"The fuck? That's no costume!" the man shouted.

"Some weird kinda experiment?"

"It's freak that's what it is!"

"Are you lost?" One particularly patronizing woman leaned in close to Love Heart. He was about to respond when he saw the crosswalk change and he bolted across the street. He felt someone grab his shirt and he wrenched away and started jogging to get away.

"Hey! Get back here bear!"

Love Heart wasn't sure if he was being chased or even if anyone cared but he picked up his pace before turning a corner and ducked down an alley. With no one around to see him he crouched and gathered the air around his legs then leapt upwards, grabbing onto the fire escape as his momentum slowed then climbing up over the edge and walking up to the top then jumping again to get onto the roof.

Love Heart sat down hard on the concrete roof and looked over at the sidewalk. He saw two of the people from the crosswalk searching around for him and he ducked back on to the roof. What was their problem? Love Heart sighed and walked to the other side of the building and dropped off the side, falling off the side slowly enough to land safely on the ground. He heard a couple people scream and stare at him as he looked at them, one woman pointing an accusing finger at him.

"De-demon! Devil! Stay away!" Love Heart blinked then stepped back before turning and running away from the crowd until he was alone on a side street.

Love Heart was panting, less from exertion and more from shock. What the hell just happened? He shook his head and looked up at the street sign before he pulled out his map to check where he was. OK he wasn't too far from where he had intended to go at least and he could get back to the hotel if ne wanted.

A sudden wind picked up and tore the paper from his hand. Love Heart reacted instantly running after the flying map, jumping over two meters into the air to snatch it from the air and keeping a tight grip on it this time as he landed.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look a flying teddy bear!" The voice came from a little girl who was pointing at Love Heart and had her other hand being held by her mother.

"Don't point, dear," The woman took one look at Love Heart as he folded the map up and stuck it back in one of his vest pockets then pulled her daughter along, "let's go before it sees us."

"Wait, miss I-," Love Heart tried to call after but the woman just averted her gaze and kept pulling her daughter away, who was struggling to try and reach Love Heart.

Love Heart just stared at them for a minute then looked around and saw more people who gave him weird or repulsed looks. Love Heart sighed and started walking again.

OoOoO

"I'm sorry but we only serve US citizens here," the old man at the hot dog restaurant in the food court said.

Love Heart felt his eyebrow twitch and pulled out his wallet, "I am!" He held up the citizen card he'd gotten as part of the registration Sarah had helped him go through.

"Hmm," the old man took the card and stared at it, "Where did you get this forged you little creep! I'm calling the cops."

Love Heart felt lightning crackle down his arms as he growled then snatched the ID back, "Well screw you too! I'll eat somewhere else!" Love Heart stormed off as he heard the old man argue with who he assumed was the restaurant's manager. Love Heart walked up to a pizza joint and looked up at the young hispanic man who was at the till. "Can I get something here?"

The young man blinked then smiled, "Of course, and don't mind him. He'd only serve Caucasians if he could get away with it. So what's with the furry outfit anyway?"

Love Heart grit his teeth and stared at the counter, trying to avoid looking the man in the eye, "It's not an outfit, it's real. Can I just get two slices of Hawaiian please?"

The man blinked and hastily rung in Love Heart's order. "That'll e $9.50"

"Here!" Love Heart dug a $10 bill out of his wallet and accepted the quarters in return before taking his slices and going to sit down.

Everyone was staring, they had been staring since he left the hotel and now it was becoming more than a little annoying. Love Heart tried to push the thoughts out of his head as he ate but they lingered like a bad smell. Love Heart didn't even bother to look up as he stormed out of the mall, still chewing the last of his pizza and leaving his empty tray and garbage on the table.

"Hey! You have to clean that up! Hey!" someone shouted after Love Heart but he ignored them until he was outside and hurried away from the mall.

Love Heart tried to shut out everything around him as he just found himself weaving away from anyone near him as tears flowed from his eyes. He started to run, he ran from the experience until he heard someone shout out to him.

"Police! Stop there bear!"

Love Heart slowed down until he came to a stop. He wiped his eyes and turned to face the beat cops who approached him. There was no one else around

"Alright, kid, take off the costume," one of the cops reached for Love Heart.

Love Heart winced away, "I'm not wearing a costume."

"For real?" The second cop just stared at Love Heart for a moment, "Alright, what's your name."

"Love Heart Bear."

The second cop let out a snort of laughter, "For real? Alright let's see some ID."

Love Heart groaned but fished out his wallet and held up his ID for the second time that day.

"How the hell is that even legal?" the first cop glared down at Love Heart and took the card from him. "And why were you running?"

"Just getting away from some jerks." Love Heart was doing his best to hold his temper in check but he could already feel his sparks dance from his fingers.

"Riiight, well I don't care where you got this fake ID from, you're coming with us." He fished out his radio.

That did it. Love Heart lost his temper and a burst of lightning erupted from him which shorted out the cop's radio. Love Heart snatched his ID and ran. The first cop unholstered his gun and took aim but a cloud of mist suddenly enveloped Love Heart, hiding him from view. The second cop shook his head and pushed his partner's gun down, "Let it go."

"But we have to call this in! He could be dangerous, he could-"

"And tell the chief what? That we caught up to a five-foot-tall green bear with a tattoo on his chest who created a fog cloud when we tried to apprehend him? We'd be kicked off to medical leave so just forget it and get back to the beat, unless you want to write up a whole report about this and firing your gun."

The first cop sighed and put the safety back on his gun before he re-holstered it, "As soon as I'm off today, I'm hitting the bar."

Love Heart had ducked into a nearby alley, the star on his forehead still glowing from when he cast the spell to create the mist, a spell his mom had taught him that she used to use when she needed to escape from danger. He was panting as he had heard the click of the officer's gun and felt it was a miracle he hadn't been shot. He slumped against the wall and slid to the ground. "So much for sightseeing," he muttered. He wanted to stay there longer but it was getting dark, the street lamps were just starting to turn on, so he sighed and decided to head back to the hotel.

While Love Heart checked his map to find his way he heard some shouts nearby and looked up. He saw a bunch of people run towards him, a man stopped and pointed at him, "Y-you, stop your crazy friends over there!"

"Crazy friends, what?" Love Heart stared at him bewildered until he heard a scream followed by an explosion. Love Heart stuffed the map back in his pocket and took off going against the people fleeing. Someone fleeing crashed into Love Heart and knocked him down. The man glared at Love Heart and kicked him.

"Fuzzy freak!" he shouted before taking off at a run again. Love Heart winced from the pain but stood up in time to see a silver bear with a katana in his left hand crash to the ground. The bear was wearing black pants and a black longcoat with the sleeves in shreds; he was bleeding from several cuts on his torso and arms. He coughed as he stood up.

"Ready to reconsider yet?" The rough voice came from a white bear with a black shard pattern across his fur, wearing blue shorts and a green tank top and holding a cutlass in each hand. He gave a sinister grin that showed off sharp teeth. Love Heart wanted to jump in but wasn't sure which side he should help.

"No." The silver bear spoke calmly in a deep voice as he stood up, his katana held in both hands.

"Alright then," the black shard bear took a deep breath.

"Wait a moment, Shatter Heart, we seem to have a guest." The feminine voice like wet black velvet came from another bear who had her hand held out in front of 'Shatter Heart'. She was dressed like what one would call a stereotypical ninja, all black from head to toe except for dark blue cords wound around her ankles and feet, a dark blue sash that ran from left shoulder to right hip and connected to a belt of the same color and a dark blue bandanna tied around her forehead outside the hood that covered her hair and ears; her hands were exposed and were covered in midnight blue fur and she held a ninja-to reverse-grip loosely in her right hand.

Now that Love Heart had a moment to look at them he could see that both of these bears had chest symbols: Shatter Heart had a shattered black heart and the ninja bear a five pointed ninja star, or at least those symbols had been stitched into their clothing. He could see that Shatter Heart had dark purple eyes that seemed to ripple.

The ninja bear pulled down the mask over her muzzle which exposed her midnight blue face and twinkling ice blue eyes. "My name is Blade Star Bear, and you are?" Love Heart was a bit too stunned to answer so she turned away from him, "Never mind, we'll deal with you later. Now then I think we've played cat a mouse long enough so this will be the final time I offer you a choice: come with us or die."

" _come with us or die."_ The words echoed inside Love Heart's head. That's what Confidence Heart had said the wolverine's demand was.

"For the last time, I will not come with you." The silver bear rooted his stand as he held the beat up katana in both hands towards the two bears facing him.

"Then DIE!" Shatter Heart charged forwards and struck at the silver bear's katana which snapped off over half the blade. The silver bear stumbled back as Shatter Heart raised his swords for a killing blow.

There was a crack of thunder as a blue lightning bolt struck Shatter Heart in the side and knocked him off balance. "Leave him alone!" Love Heart charged at Shatter Heart as he conjured a pair of swords into his hands from his chest symbol. Love Heart struck at Shatter Heart, his swords passed through him which made him shout and step back.

Love Heart stepped in between the silver bear and Shatter Heart, who was still reeling in pain. "Are you alright?"

The silver bear just stared, "No, but thank you. Look out!"

The warning came too late as three five pointed shuriken embedded themselves in Love Heart's right forearm. Love Heart flinched and dropped his swords so he could pull them out, but after he pulled one out the stars vanished.

"So it seems you're against us," Blade Star held her left arm out from where she had thrown the ninja stars, "But nevertheless I shall offer you one chance: come with us or die."

Love Heart glared at her and held up his hands, "I choose neither!" Love Heart flung his hands forwards and fired off a blast of lightning at Blade Star, which struck her dead on tough she didn't cry out in pain. Love Heart crouched and grabbed his swords just in time to block Shatter Heart's sword swings as lightning crackled across his body. Both bear's swords clashed against each other as Love Heart pressed his attack and pushed Shatter Heart backwards.

"A pity," Blade Star shook off the electricity and reached up to the chest symbol stitched into her outfit as it glowed then withdrew three more shuriken that she threw at Love Heart. Love Heart cried out as the ninja stars hit him in the side and Shatter Heart kicked him to send him off balance.

"Not good ENOUUUUUUGH!" Shatter Heart held out his long shout which sent out a sonic wave at Love Heart. Love Heart could feel his ears pounding as the blast caused his skin to ripple and nearly buckle under the strain. He saw Blade Star jump towards him, slick green goo trailing off her sword as she struck down at him. Love Heart barely managed to dodge at the last second as the blade hit the ground and melted some of the pavement under her blade. Love Heart's breath caught in his throat as he steadied himself.

"Get out of here!" Love Heart shouted to the silver bear, who still held his katana's hilt with less than ten centimeters of blade left. Love Heart had to dodge aside as Shatter Heart lunged at him again, only for a sonic shockwave to explode out from where he hit the ground which cause Love Heart to stumble.

"Worry about yourself," Blade Star shot out her left hand, palm open, and fired a jet of green acid at Love Heart. Love Heart cried out in pain as the acid struck him in the right arm, the pain was indescribably but he kept focused on blocking and striking out at Shatter Heart who had kept up his assault.

"No, I won't leave you!" The silver bear swung his right hand over his shoulder as five strings of blue light launched out and latched onto five chunks of debris that lay on the road. He hurled his hand forwards, open palmed, and the rubble flew past and cannoned into Blade Star, knocking her backwards and off her feet. The silver bear charged at Shatter Heart and swung back with the broken katana still in his left hand. Shatter Heart turned just in time to see a shimmering blue aura envelope the blade as the silver bear swung at him, and scored a deep gash into Shatter Heart's side which forced him back.

"What?" Love Heart stared for a moment.

"Atherealist, and you?" The Silver Bear asked.

"Aerokinetics." Despite his pain Love Heart managed a smile. It didn't last as Shatter Heart, ignoring the wound in his side, let out another sonic scream. This time it hit the silver bear dead on and Love Heart dodged aside, only for four more shuriken to whirr past his face and hit the pavement, where they shattered into shards that peppered Love Heart in his side and back.

"No matter, you will not escape," Blade Star crouched low and ran towards Love Heart.

"Shut up!" Love Heart shouted as he swung his swords at her with lightning dancing across the blades, "Lightning Cross!" the lightning erupted into a bright blue X in front of him as he swung downwards and struck Blade Star dead on. She let out a growl and was hurled back as electricity coursed along her body.

Shatter Heart's stopped his scream and the silver bear didn't waste a moment, throwing more strings of energy forwards to grab a large rock behind him then yanked back which catapulted the rock right into the back of Shatter Heart's head.

Love Heart and the silver bear stood, panting and watching the two on the ground. Blade Star was the first up and looked about to charge at them but found her legs too unsteady to stay up very long and she dropped to her knees; Shatter Heart couldn't even manage that. At that moment they heard sirens blare from nearby.

The silver bear took Love Heart's arm, "Let's go before the police get to us." Love Heart just nodded and let his swords dissolve as the silver bear pulled him away.

Blade Star finally managed to drag herself over to Shatter Heart. "We need to go, get patched up." Shatter Heart just groaned as Blade Star grabbed him and they sunk into the ground, the acrid smell of her acid melting them below before a sonic shout collapsed the cave they made.

When the police arrived all they found was a battlefield and the broken blade of a katana. No eyewitnesses were able to give a concrete description of what they'd seen except for four bears that had been fighting like mad men. The report later read that a gang battle had broken out, no one wanted to be the one to say that four bears had been fighting in the streets without any proof.

OoOoO

The silver bear dragged Love Heart for quite a distance until he stopped and pointed to a fire escape on an old building, "Up!" he shouted. He let go of Love Heart's arm as a ball of blue energy surrounded him and he catapulted up to the fire escape. Love Heart followed suit and used a bubble of air to launch himself up to join him. Both slipped inside as they police sirens flew past.

The building was an old condemned factory with a wide open floor and Love Heart slumped to the floor of the catwalk that was thankfully still stable. Now that the adrenaline had worn off Love Heart was exhausted and suddenly very aware of just how much pain he was in. He started to pluck out the star shards from his fur, only for them to dissolve before he was halfway done and his right arm started to seize up.

"That looks bad," the silver bear knelt next to Love Heart. He was panting but nowhere near as bad as Love Heart was. He grimaced as he could see the fur and flesh had dissolved and his arm had become grotesque.

"Feels worse," Love Heart grunted.

"Hold still, this is going to hurt." The silver bear held up his hands as blue strings of energy attached to Love Heart's arm. Love Heart clenched his teeth hard as he felt the magic working into his arm, forcefully growing new skin, fur and even some other melted body parts as the strings wove and stitched the new flesh back into place. The pain that lanced through Love Heart made his vision go white and he let out a loud cry of pain.

Finally, the silver bear stood up, panting heavily, "There. How's that."

Love Heart turned to see his arm, now back in one piece and with all the skin and fur where it belonged. "Hurts like hell," he tested the arm and winced at the pain but at least everything was there, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, now hold still so I can treat your other injuries." The silver bear moved to Love Heart's front as more blue strings connected to Love Heart's injuries, growing and stitching new skin and fur into place, making it look like he'd never been hurt in the first place.

"My name's Love Heart. Who are you?" Love Heart asked.

The silver bear remained silent for a moment, the looked up so Love Heart could see into his brown eyes. "Isaac Nelson Dewitt Yancy, but people who know me call me Indy."

Love Heart nodded, "Thanks Isaac. Are you alright?"

"I've been better, but you're worse. Just wait a moment." Indy kept at his work until all of Love Heart's wounds were healed. He sat down and ran his hands over his own body, strings of blue aether stitching his wounds shut as well. "Thank you for saving me."

Love Heart smiled, "No problem. Who were those two and what was going on?"

Indy remained silent for a minute, wincing as his wounds closed, before he spoke. "Their names are Shatter Heart Bear and Blade Star Bear and they've been chasing me for months. They catch up to me every so often and I'm forced to fight them and then run, until today."

"What do they want?" Love Heart turned his head to face Indy.

Indy kept staring off into the empty factory, "For me to join whatever it is they're a part of, but as soon as I told them I wanted to be left alone they attacked me and then the chase began. I need to rest then I should get going before they come back."

Love Heart grabbed the hem of Indy's coat to stop him from standing up, "I don't think they'll come back for a while with those injuries, but they know I'm here now and they might bring more of their friends…"

"What?" Indy let himself be pulled back down, "There's more of them?"

Love Heart nodded, "My girlfriend was attacked the other day by a wolverine called Passion Heart who said the same thing: 'come with me or die'. I don't think they know that Confidence and I are together or even that we know each other yet but…I can't let them find my family while I'm here. I have to leave."

"I'm sorry, could you back up and explain who you're talking about?" Indy had a very confused look on his face.

Love Hear chuckled, "Right. My family and I are staying here while we wait for passports so we can go to Canada to find more Care Bears, creatures like us. I was out having a…" Love Heart paused as the rest of the day's events came back fresh to his memory, "bad day when I ran into you but now they might be watching me so I have to leave ahead of time if…" he dug around in one of the pockets of his vest and pulled out his passport, "Good, I can leave if there's still a flight left." He stood up, "Isaac-"

"You can call me Indy," the silver bear stood up alongside him.

Love Heart smiled, "Right. Indy, can you do me a favor," he dug out the map and room key from his pocket and handed them to the silver bear, "I need you to go to my family and keep an eye on them until they leave, just to be safe. Mom's pregnant and Confidence is still injured from her fight with that wolverine so I'd feel better if you stayed there with them."

Indy managed a smile and took offered items, "I could do that. I suppose they wouldn't think to look for me in the same town twice in a row."

"Thanks, first I need to give you something." Love Heart turned to face him.

Indy tensed up and gripped the remains of his sword, "what?"

"Your chest symbol, like this," Love Heart pointed to where his shirt collar hung low enough to expose his symbol.

Indy stared for a moment then shook his head, glared and raised his broken katana, "No. I'm not joining your group and getting a tattoo stuck to my chest for no reason!"

Love Heart took a step back, "Sorry, I just wanted to give you a gift. It's not a tattoo."

"What is it then?" Indy hadn't relaxed.

"It's a symbol that give you powers, like this," Love Heart held up his hand as his symbol glowed and one of his swords appeared in his hand.

Indy stared somewhat awed but tried to keep a passive expression, "That's useful. Will it hurt."

Love Heart smiled, "Nope."

Indy sighed and lowered his broken katana, "Alright, just make it fast."

Love Heart nodded then his tummy symbol glowed and shot out a white symbol that flew toward Indy. The silver bear tensed up again as the symbol circled around him until it landed on his chest. It felt warm. When the glow faded Indy had a small red heart ringed by ten yellow stars on his chest. He touched it, "It's part of the fur?"

"Yep, and Dad can show you how to use it. But you need a name," Love Heart folded his arms as he thought.

"What's wrong with my name?" Indy looked hurt.

"Nothing, but Care Bears usually have a name that tells people something about their personality. Confidence Heart's other name is Cassandra Avalon."

"I see. Hmm…" Indy thought for a moment, "Do I need to have the word 'heart' in my name?"

Love Heart shrugged, "I guess not."

"Well how about 'Independent Bear'. I prefer to be alone when I can and that's not a bad thing, some people just need alone time. Also people can still call me Indy if they want."

Love Heart smiled, "I like it. Welcome, Independent Bear." Love Heart listened out the windows. The sirens had faded a while ago and the sun was almost set. "I need to find a payphone, want to walk with me?"

Indy nodded and the two of them carefully stepped back out onto the fire escape and Love Heart jumped down to the ground, cushioning his fall with a bubble of air, while Indy climbed down to the bottom of the fire escape before kicking down the ladder. Love Heart watched as he stepped down the ground and Indy looked back, "too tired from fixing us up."

"Ahh," Love Heart nodded then motioned for Indy to follow him.

The streets were quieter now and people just stopped to glance at the two bears for a moment before they moved on. Love Heart searched the streets until he found what he was looking for: a pay phone.

"Finally," Love Heart darted over to the payphone and pulled out the phone book. After he found the hotel's phone number he dialed the front desk and deposited the coins into the phone. "Hello? Yes, can I speak to room 1014."

"Just a moment, they're taking another phone call. I'll put you on hold until they're done." The voice on the other side of the phone was calm and methodical. Love Heart sighed and leaned up against the payphone's side. He looked up at Indy, who had walked up to stand next to the phone, "So who taught you kinetics?"

"An old man named Koran, I guess you could say he was my father." Indy looked up at the sky. "What about you?"

"My dad taught me too." Love Heart listened close to the hold music and sighed, "Where is Koran?"

Indy looked down at the ground, "He died two years ago. He was old and he told me it was his time." Indy looked up, his eyes were wet. "I've had some problems since he died, I'm not a legal citizen of this country so I can't get a job or even a place to live," he held up the side of his longcoat and for the first time Love Heart noticed that it was rough, ragged and full of holes, "I can only do so much to fix this."

"Mom might be able to help you with that, hold on," Love Heart heard the hold music end as the ring tone came back.

"Hello?" Confidence Heart's voice came over the phone.

Love Heart sighed in relief, "Confidence Heart, how are you?"

"Love Heart? It's late where are you?" Confidence Heart sounded both frantic and relieved.

"I don't know right now. Listen something happened today, I met three new Care Bears today," Love Heart took a deep breath, "One of them is with me right now, he's a silver bear named Indy, but the other two… they said the same thing you said Passion Heart told you 'come with us or die'."

"There's more of them?" Confidence's voice turned into a growl, "Who are they?!"

"A white and black bear named Shatter Heart Bear and the other is a blue ninja bear named Blade Star Bear."

"Wait, a ninja, like black pyjamas and shuriken?"

"Yeah. They were chasing Indy so I helped him fight them off, but they know I'm here now. I don't think they know I'm with you but they might come back for me." Love Heart took a deep breath as he thought about what he was about to say, "I'm going to try and catch a flight to Regina tonight, I can't risk them following me back to the hotel. Indy's going to com-"

Confidence interrupted him, "What?! Love Heart you can't just leave out of nowhere! I mean what if there is no flight tonight are you just going to wait in the airport?"

"If I have to, I'm not leading them back to you guys. I'll see you next week."

He heard Confidence Heart sigh, "Well I have bad news then. I just got off the phone with my brother and there was a mix up at the passport office, turns out it will take a week _per_ _passport_ so it'll be almost a month before we can get out of here."

Love Heart winced, "Shit, that's not good. They might find you even if I leave tonight…Hey is mom up?"

There was some shuffling from the phone before Confidence answered, "Yeah, she heard me shouting."

"Can I talk to her?"

"Yeah, just a sec." Love Heart heard more shuffling.

"Love Heart? Are you alright?" Life Heart sounded worried.

"Yeah. Look mom, I need to try and catch a plane tonight because more of those crazy Care Bears are after us, Shatter Heart Bear and Blade Star Bear. I had to fight them and I don't want to lead them back to the hotel."

Love Heart heard his mother take a deep breath in and out, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'll do my best to keep everyone safe until we can leave. Please stay safe, son."

"I will, thank you. Oh before I forget I'm sending another Care Bear I met today. He's a silver bear named Independent Bear, he's a friend. Can you let the front desk know so they don't throw him out?"

"OK, I love you, Love Heart."

"I love you too mom, and tell Confidence Heart I love her too."

"I love you too!" Love Heart heard Confidence shout form nearby. He smiled, "see you in a month," Love Heart hung up and turned back to Indy. "Can you find the hotel?"

Indy showed Love Heart the map, "Yeah. Don't worry they won't follow me." Indy's form flickered and disappeared as Love Heart watched. "Telekinetic invisibility, good luck."

"Thanks," Love Heart waved to where he saw a faint shimmer of the air where he assumed Indy was. He sighed and turned back to the phone booth and dialed, "Taxi?"

OoOoO

Independent Bear ducked down the alley next to the hotel while still invisible, checked to make sure no one was looking in his direction then became visible and walked into the front of the hotel.

The clerk looked up at him, "Are you Independent Bear?"

Indy stopped and turned his head to look at the clerk. "Yes."

"Alright, they told me you were coming. Do you know where to go?"

"Tenth floor?"

"Turn right when you get up there, it'll be on your left."

Indy nodded, "Thank you."

Indy fidgeted as he rode up in the elevator. The air felt hot and heavy as it kept going up, and up, and up until finally it stopped and the door opened. Indy darted out and turned right, almost running down the hall until he found room 1014. He fished the key out, then stopped and knocked on the door. A moment later the door opened and Indy's eye's widened when he saw an unclothed moss green unicorn standing there. She had a picture of an apple tree with heart shaped fruit on her chest and, he looked down, she appeared to be with child.

The unicorn smiled and spoke in a soft almost melodic voice, "Oh hello. You must be Independent Bear, please come in." She stepped aside to let Indy in, who sighed in relief to see a window across from the door.

Indy leaned up against the wall next to the door and turned to the unicorn, "Who are you?"

"My name is Life Heart Unicorn, I'm Love Heart's mother." Life Heart smiled then turned to the wall nearby.

Indy blinked then stared, "His mother? Is he adopted?"

Life Heart shook her head, "No. He is my very flesh and blood. Please just a moment I'm almost done."

Indy watched as Life Heart's horn glowed and a ball of blue light flew up to attach to the corner of the ceiling. Now that he looked, Indy saw a dozen other orbs floating around the room. Life Heart started to chant as her horn glowed blue and the orbs were all connected by beams of light. Life Heart chanted a few words he didn't understand, the orbs glowed bright blue for a moment and then vanished.

"There, all done." Life Heart turned back to her guest and, upon seeing his confused expression, continued, "That spell will keep anyone from seeing or detecting us from the outside as long as we're inside this room or even on the balcony. Anyone who looks through the windows or at us on the balcony, from even short distance, will just ignore us as though we aren't here. I didn't cover the door so we can still order food if we need to."

"I see," Indy just stared at the unicorn. She seemed to be glowing but that might have been just because she was pregnant.

"So you're Indy." The rougher feminine voice drew Indy's attention to a long-eared fox with her right arm in a sling. She was fully dressed so he couldn't see her chest symbol.

"I am. And you?"

"Confidence Heart Fennec," Confidence walked over to him and extended her left arm to him. Indy reached out hesitantly with his left hand and shook it, surprised as the strong grip she had. "Welcome to our home for the next three weeks."

"Thank you." Indy released her hand, "Can I sleep somewhere?"

"You can have my bed for now, I'm not gonna sleep for a while," Confidence Heart slumped onto the couch and grabbed the TV remote, "Wish I'd brought Sailor Moon with me," she mumbled. As Indy walked off she called, "Don't freak out if you feel me get into bed later. I'm not sleeping on the floor!"

"OK." Indy took his coat off and tossed it on the floor then paused, looked down, and decided to keep his pants on for now as he slipped into the bed. The softness of the bed overwhelmed him and Independent Bear was out like a light in moments.

OoOoO

Love Heart leaned up against the door of the call as he watched the city go by and sighed.

"Want to talk?" The African-American driver asked.

"Dunno." Love Heart kept staring out the window. "I had a rough day in town."

"I know the feeling."

Love Heart blinked, "What?"

"Being different, especially looking different, makes things hard in this country. Were you profiled?"

"What does that mean?"

"Did the police try to arrest you for no reason?"

"Yeah…"

The driver came to stop at a red light, "I've had that happen before. Twice when I was driving my own car I got pulled over and asked where I got the car. They tried to take my car registration once but I threatened to tell their chief if they did." The light changed and the taxi started moving again.

"I've never dealt with that before, it's…terrible." Love Heart turned back to the driver.

He nodded, "It is, but it mostly happens in larger cities. It's better than it used to be but they still need work."

"You're the first human today who spoke to me like I was a person."

"I could see. My advice is to not give them satisfaction if they don't attack you and never respond with violence because it will just make things worse for you and anyone of your kind as well."

"I'll remember that." Love Heart turned to look back out the window. The sun had set and the only lights he could see were from the airport terminal.

"Keep the change," Love Heart passed $50 to the driver and stepped out of the car. He looked up at the terminal entrance, took a deep breath then walked in.

The terminal was mostly empty, just the staff at the ticket booths, the janitors sweeping the floors with large machines and a few people in line ups. Not knowing what else to do, Love Heart headed for the information desk.

"Excuse me." Love Heart got the attention of the attendant. She stared at him for a moment before reassuming a professional air.

"Good evening. How can I help you today?"

"Are there any more flights leaving for Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada tonight?" Love Heart asked. He tried to look at the screens displaying the departure and arrival times but couldn't make sense of the abbreviations.

"Just a moment." The clerk turned to her computer. A few mouse clicks and some typing later and she answered, "There's a red-eye on Air Canada leaving in eighty minutes," She pointed to the desk along the wall with the words AIR CANADA on a sign over it.

"Thanks."

Thankfully there was no line up for Air Canada. The clerk was a bit more skeptical of Love Heart's appearance, but he still took Love Heart's registration and Love Heart paid with his debit card and got his ticket.

Love Heart found the terminal too quiet with only about twenty other passengers and none of them were awake enough to want to speak to him. Love Heart barely registered when he was called to board and was fortunate enough to get a window seat. The experience of the plane taking off made Love Heart's heart jump into his throat and he gripped the armrests until the plane finally leveled off. Exhausted, Love Heart called for an attendant to get a pillow that he propped under his head and leaned the chair back. Hopefully they'd wake him up when he got to Regina.


	15. Rewind

"Their money is so colourful up here." Love Heart stared at the blue, purple and green dollar bills in his wallet that he'd just converted from his American currency as he stepped out of the airport terminal. It was a clear day and cooler than it had been back in the States and Love Heart shivered slightly as the wind blew through his fur. He scanned the terminal entrance until he found what he was looking for, taxis.

"Downtown please," Love Heart said as he got into the backseat of the taxi. "I just hope I can find someone that knows who I'm looking for."

 _And now we must leave Love Heart here and turn back the clock fifteen years. For those that Love Heart are about to meet have their own stories, their own pasts and their own lives. Now we will meet them and see what made them who they are…_

Chapter 15: Rewind: The Story of Alex and Germaine

Middle-aged Marian Kitun was attending her garden early in the spring, tilling the soil and spreading compost from the previous year. As she sat down to eat her lunch she heard a pitiful whine beneath her back deck. Curiosity piqued, she got up and looked under the deck and saw a baby fox kit. It whined again when it saw her.

Marian crawled in and reached for the fox, which recoiled as best it could. "Poor thing, don't worry I won't hurt you." She carefully picked the kit up and lifted it out from under the deck. "Are you hungry? Just a minute, I'll find something for you."

Inside, Marian bundled up a small blanket that she set the fox kit down on before she pulled out a dusty baby bottle. She stared at it for a moment as a memory flashed in her mind from when she had bought it, and why it was never used, before she pulled out a jug of milk. A moment later the full bottle was in a pot of boiling water on the stove. The fox kit whined right up until Marian put the bottle in its mouth. She squeezed to get the warm milk onto its tongue which it lapped up greedily. Marian smiled as she continued to feed the kit.

The fox kit was asleep when Marian's husband, Alfred, arrived at home. The middle-aged couple lived outside the city of Regina so Alfred always came home late in the evening. Alfred took one look at his wife feeding the fox kit and groaned.

"Marian," he whispered, "Where did you find that animal?"

"Under the deck," Marian whispered back. She set the satisfied kit back on the blanket where it fell asleep. "It was abandoned so I decided to take it in." She motioned for Alfred to follow her to the living room where they could talk and let the fox sleep.

"And you didn't call the animal shelter? We can't keep a baby fox here, aside from them not being pets have you smelled him?" Alfred's face screwed up as he smells the kit's stench again.

"I've been up to my elbows in compost all week, I'm surprised I can smell anything," Marian retorted. When she saw her husband's face unchanged she sighed, "I'll call the shelter tomorrow, but can we just keep him for the night and…"

"Pretend it's our child?" Alfred sighed and gave his wife a hug, "Alright, just for tonight but first thing in the morning I'm taking it to the shelter. It needs someone who knows how to look after it."

Marian nodded, "OK."

Later that night Marian and Alfred were startled awake by what sounded like a baby crying. Marian was the first out of bed and ran into the kitchen. She flipped on the lights, then stared and called out, "Alfred! Come here!" Alfred was in the kitchen a moment later after he put his glasses on. He stared at the table, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes then checked again.

The fox kit had changed, now it was bright fiery red with a white chest and belly, a white tip at the end of his tail and looked more like a living stuffed animal with humanlike green eyes, opposable thumbs and a cry that sounded very human. Marian immediately moved to pick it up and rocked it gently like a baby even as it flailed it arms to try and get loose. Now that it, or rather he, was in her arms they could see valentine shaped pads on the fox kit's footpaws and at the tip of his nose.

"Shh shh shh shh shh shh, it's OK baby," she whispered. Eventually the kit calmed down and Marian looked up to her husband. "I don't think we can take him to the animal shelter."

Alfred nodded, "I'll make an appointment with Doctor Philips in the morning."

OoOoO

"Twice in the same day," Doctor Philips muttered as he checked the fox kit in his office. The fox was proving to be a handful. Not strong enough to crawl but crying and trying to bite at him whenever he got close. Thankfully his teeth were too short to cause any real harm.

When he was finished his exam he turned to Marian and Alfred, "He's healthy for a human baby but I can't say for sure about the whole fox thing. Can I assume you're taking him back home?"

"Yes, we are," Alfred replied.

Doctor Philips sighed, he had expected this, "Just be careful with him and let me know if he shows any unusual symptoms."

After the Kituns had left, Doctor Philips punched out for lunch. "I should start drinking…"

"So what should we call him?" Marian held the fox kit in her arms, he had calmed down once they left the doctor's office.

"Hmm…" Alfred focused on getting them onto the main street before he answered, "Well how about Alex?"

"Why Alex?" Marian looked up from the kit, who was dozing off in her arms.

"It's a good, simple name and the best I can think of right now," Alfred replied.

Marian laughed, "Alright then, Alex Kitun it is."

OoOoO

"Merry Christmas Alex," Marian lifted the fox out of his crib. He fussed too much to wear anything except his diaper.

"Cwismas?" Alex gave Marian a curious look.

"I'll show you." She smiled and carried the fox kit into the living room.

For the first time in years, Alfred and Marian had bought and decorated a Christmas tree. It was covered in lights, ornament balls, and garland with a light up star on top and a small pile of presents under the tree. Alex spotted the brightly colored boxes and stared at them with his wide green eyes.

"Christmas is a time to spend with family, share your love and presents," Marian set Alex down on the floor.

"Pwesents?" Alex crawled over to the brightly colored boxes.

"Yep, that's them. Merry Christmas," Alfred entered the room and gave Marian a kiss. "Want to open them?"

Alex smiled, "Yay!" he grabbed the closest box and tore into the wrapping paper. Before too long Alex had stopped caring about the contents of the box and just started tearing up and playing with the brightly colored paper.

Marian laughed, "Oh dear, let me help you with that." She pulled the box closer to herself and opened the top. She pulled out a little t-shirt with a heart sewn into the front, "Here, I made this for you."

Alex gave one look to the shirt and scowled while he folded his arms, "No! Itch!"

"Now Alex, she put a lot of work into that. Please put it on for her," Alfred crouched down to look the fox in the eyes.

Alex growled, "No! Itch!"

"Don't growl at us, Alex," Alfred said. He carefully lifted the kit up and Alex struggled to be let go. He thrashed his arms and legs around until Marian managed to get the shirt over his head and pull it down over his head, his arms somehow found the sleeves on their own.

Alex growled again, "Itch!" he swung his little fist out and accidentally bopped Alfred on the nose.

Alfred gave the fox a stern look, "No hitting Alex, and don't growl."

Alex sulked as Alfred set him down, then immediately started scratching his chest through the shirt as he repeated what was quickly becoming his favorite word, "Itch! Itch! Itch!"

"Was that too much?" Marian asked as she watched the kit fussing with his new shirt.

Alfred shook his head "He has to get used to wearing clothes sometime, might as well start young."

Alex was starting to cry when Marian picked him up, "Don't fuss, Alex, here." She smiled and tickled the fox's feet. Alex's cries quickly disintegrated into a fit of giggles before Marian set him on the couch, "Now behave and maybe we'll have pancake later." Alex pouted again but stopped trying to take off his new shirt.

OoOoO

"Are you ready for your first day of kindergarten?" The sun was high overhead as Marian stood at the end of the dirt path that led up to their house.

Now five-year-old Alex Kitun stood wearing a blue t-shirt, red shorts and black and white sneakers. He scowled as he heard the school bus pull up, "No."

"Go on and try to make some friends," Marian nudged him forwards onto the bus.

"Friends?" Alex looked up the imposing mountain of stairs before him.

"Kids your age, go on." Marian urged him forwards.

Alex gulped and stepped up into the bus. The driver looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, "Another one? Well take a seat we have twelve more stops to make." Alex took the first seat behind the drive and yelped when he felt the bus pull away. He'd never been in a vehicle without a car seat or even a seat belt. Thankfully the road wasn't bumpy and Alex was able to stay in his seat as the school bus rolled into the city limits.

Alex sat in silence until the bus came to a stop. The fox looked up as a young white boy with brown hair in blue overalls and a yellow shirt climbed onto the bus. He stopped and stared at Alex until the driver grunted. "Sit down." And the boy clambered on the seat next to Alex.

"Hi. I'm Brandon. Why are you fuzzy?" the boy asked.

Alex scowled, "I'm a fox."

Brandon stared, "Wow! Wanna be friends?"

Alex recoiled slightly until he saw that he wasn't trying to be mean and nodded, "OK."

Brandon smiled and gave Alex a hug, "Yay! Fuzzy!"

"Ack!" Alex pushed him off but Brandon kept smiling. Alex couldn't help but smile back.

The rest of the bus ride went smoothly, the rest of the afternoon kindergarteners just glanced at Alex before the were told to sit down.

The school was an old two-story red brick building built into a man made hill, it looked older than most of the other buildings that surrounded it. When they got off the bus they were ushered straight to the kindergarten classroom. The kindergarten teacher stared at Alex when he sat down for a moment before she rolled her eyes and introduced herself.

"Good afternoon, children, my name is Mrs. Engleheart and I will be your teacher for the year. Now I know you all look different but please don't treat anyone badly for that." She glanced at Alex briefly, "Now take a moment to get to know each other."

"Why are you furry?" a girl sitting next to Alex asked.

"My gramma said it's 'cause I'm a fox," Alex replied.

"What's a fox?" another boy asked.

Alex growled, "I'm a fox!"

"No growling Alex," Mrs. Engelheart cautioned, "And don't just ask Alex questions, ask everyone."

Introductions lasted another ten minutes before they were told they could go and play with the various toys in the room. Brandon followed Alex to a fake kitchen playset. "Don't eat the plastic food!" Mrs. Engleheart called.

Alex looked at the bowl of rubber salad and stuck out his tongue, "Looks yucky."

Brandon pulled Alex's arm, "Wanna play with the sticky blocks?"

"Sticky blocks?" Alex let Brandon pull him over to an area fenced off by big shelves.

Brandon pulled out handful of small cubes each with holes on five sides and a peg on the last side, "sticky blocks! Like from preschool!" he said again as he stuck the peg of one into the hole on another.

Alex brightened up, "Ooh!" he grinned then grabbed more of the blocks and started to stuck them together. Before long Brandon had build something that looked like a robot while Alex was making some sort of house, at least it sort-of looked like one.

OoOoO

"Bye!" Alex waved to Brandon as he got off the bus, which left the fox alone except for the bus driver. Alex was still smiling as he got off the bus and ran up the dirt road to his house. "Gramma, Grampa, I'm home!" he kicked off his shoes.

"Welcome home, Alex," Marian turned to see the fox come into the home, "Grandpa isn't home yet. How was kindergarten? Did you make any friends?"

"Uh-huh," Alex nodded, "his name's Brandon, he's the first boy who got on the bus."

"That's good. Now run along, I'm making supper," She ushered Alex into the living room.

"OK," Alex skipped towards the living room. He pushed the "POWER" button on the TV remote and parked in tail in front of the TV while he waited for supper.

OoOoO

Kindergarten was more fun than Alex had expected it to be. He rode the school bus every day at noon and met with Brandon at the first stop before being dropped off at school and spending three hours playing and learning how to read and write. Brandon and Alex had become fast friends and through the fall, winter and spring they spent most of their days at school together.

When summer came around, Alex was eager to visit Brandon in town. Brandon's mother was shocked to see that Alex was actually a fox but upon seeing the two together she didn't object.

Brandon pulled Alex into his living room, "Here, wanna play with me?" he pointed to a large grey brick-like device with purple switches on the top that was plugged into the TV.

"Whazzat?" Alex asked.

"Super Nintendo, here." Brandon sat down in front of the machine and grabbed one of the plastic paddles that was plugged into the box. Alex just stared for a moment then sat down next to Brandon and took the second controller. Brandon plugged a video game cartridge labeled "Super Mario Kart" into the top of the console and hit the power switch.

"So where did you find him?" Brandon's mother sat with Marian, a cup of coffee in her hand.

Marian took a drink before she replied, "Under my deck five years ago. I think he was abandoned by his mother down there."

"Was he always… a fox or a stuffed animal?" Brandon's mother glanced over her shoulder towards the living room.

Marian sighed, "He was a normal fox kit when I found him and the next day he'd changed into what he is now and we adopted him."

"I see," Brandon's mother stared into her mug for a moment. "Did he get his shots."

Marian did her best to keep a pleasant face on but she felt her wrinkled eye twitch, "He's had all the same vaccinations that I assume your son has had."

"OK." Brandon's mom chuckled nervously, "When he said his friend was a fox I thought he was exaggerating or that he was imaginary. I guess it's good that he's real."

"Hey! No Fair!" Alex's voice shouted from the living room.

"Nuh-uh, shells are fair!" Brandon retorted.

"Oh yeah, I'll show you!" There was a pop followed by a clunk and a few moments later the sounds of fighting came from the living room. Brandon's mom's eye widened and she got up and quickly marched to the living room with Marian right behind her.

Brandon's mom let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Alex and Brandon were just playing Street Fighter 2.

"Hah! Gotcha!" Alex shouted as he knocked Brandon's character out.

Marian glared at the other woman as she turned around, "What did you think was happening?"

She stammered, "Well, I thought..."

"That my grandson was attacking your son, or biting him?" Marian folded her arms, "Alex is a little boy just like your son, yes he has a short temper but he deserves to be seen as a person, OK?"

Brandon's mother nodded, a bit cowed by the older woman's forceful personality.

OoOoO

"Why do I hafta get up so early?" Alex grumbled as he ate his breakfast cereal.

"Because, first grade starts at 9 and goes till 3:30," Alfred filled up his travel mug with coffee, "Hurry up, the bus'll be here right away."

"OK, Grandpa." Alex drank the rest of his milk then got up and headed for the door.

"Don't forget this," Alfred passed Alex's backpack and lunchbox to him, which Alex took before he got out the door.

The bus was there a minute later and Alex climbed onboard, taking his usual spot right at the front of the bus which was just as empty as it had been for all of last year. This year the bus made more stops and picked up more students each time. Alex growled at anyone who stopped to stare at him until Brandon got on at the fifth stop, where he plonked himself down next to Alex.

"Excited?" Brandon asked.

"No!" Alex folded his arms and stared at the barrier between them and the steps, "They said it's gonna be all work now," Alex growled slightly.

Brandon sighed, "Yeah. But we'll meet some new friends right?"

Alex just continued to stare daggers at the barrier.

When they got to the school they were all directed to the auditorium. Alex and Brandon took a seat next to each other on the floor as the principal gave his introduction speech to everyone. Neither of them were really listening until they heard the principal say they needed to listen for their names.

"…Alex Kitun, Brandon Larson…" Alex stood up when his name was called and heard several mutterings. He growled as he walked past some of the students but went up to stand with the first grade teacher and stared at the ground, only vaguely listening to the other names being called. "…and Germaine Siedleman."

Alex looked up and started. Germaine was a blue raccoon, a blue raccoon in a pink t-shirt and black skirt. She seemed to shrink as she felt the eyes on her but her own gaze was fixed on Alex as she walked up to join their class group. Alex saw that Germaine's nose tip was also heart shaped like his own as she joined the line up of students.

"Follow me, class," their new teacher motioned for them to follow him out of the auditorium. Because they were walking in alphabetical order Alex was walking alongside Brandon but he stole a look over his shoulder at the blue raccoon.

"There's someone else like you?" Brandon whispered.

"I guess," Alex whispered back.

"Where's she from?" Brandon looked back at her.

"Morning kindergarten, like me," an African-American boy ahead of Brandon answered. He had very shot curly hair and brown eyes.

"Ooooh!" Brandon turned back forwards.

The teacher opened a door with a large black 4 at the top, "Alright, everyone find a seat."

Alex and Brandon took seats next to each other in the middle row of desks, the African-American boy took the seat right in front of Brandon. Alex watched as Germaine walked over to him, smiled, then took the seat on his right side.

"Hello," Germaine whispered.

"Hi," Alex whispered back.

"I-I'm Germaine."

"I'm Alex."

"Alright class, welcome to first grade." The teacher's voice silenced any further conversation, "Just so we're clear, this isn't kindergarten anymore. You're here to learn not just play. Remember where you're sitting now because that will be where you sit for the rest of the year. Now please take your school supplies out of your backpacks and put them inside your desks. If you want to then get to know your neighbours but we do have things to do today."

Alex practically stuffed his notebooks, pencil case and duo-tangs into his desk then turned to Germaine. The blue raccoon was careful when she put her supplies away but she turned to look at Alex. "Where do you live?"

"Outside the city with my grandparents. Where to do live?" Alex asked.

"With my foster-mom and some other kids…" Germaine looked up and noticed that quite a few members of the class had turned to look at them, "Most kids don't talk to me though."

"What's a foster-mom?" Alex scrunched up his face as he tried to figure out what the word meant.

"She's not my real mom, she just looks after me until I'm older. Where are your mom and dad?" Germaine had stowed her supplied and turned in her seat so she faced Alex.

"Grandma says she doesn't know, but thinks my mom left me with them when I was a baby. What about you?"

Germaine hung her head, "I dunno, my foster-mom doesn't talk to me much…"

"Alright everyone, let's get started. You can talk at recess." Germaine and Alex turned to face their teacher as their lessons started.

When the recess bell rang Alex was already sick of schoolwork: staring at paper, writing things down, having the information crammed into his head. He stuffed his book back into his desk and all but bolted for the door. Once he was outside Alex stopped to search for Germaine and spotted her as she exited the school and only stepped to the side to lean up against the wall. For the first time Alex noticed that she was wearing glasses, which she hadn't been wearing back in the gym. Germaine had a book in her hand and had her nose in it in mere moments.

"Just like before," the African-American boy walked over with Brandon.

"What do you mean, Caleb?" Brandon looked back at Germaine.

"She never plays, she just reads books," Caleb pointed at the raccoon.

"What's she reading?" Alex couldn't make out the cover. "I'm gonna see."

Germaine looked up as Alex approached her and ducked back behind the cover. She looked back up to see Alex standing in front of her, "Hi…"

"Hi. What'cha reading?" Alex asked.

"Redwall, it's about animal people like us," she stuck a bookmark on her page and lifted up the book to show Alex the cover, which depicted a large rat riding on a hay cart being pulled by a terrified horse with a large red castle in the background.

Alex looked at the cover for a moment then up at Germaine, "Wanna be friends?"

Germaine blinked, "Really?"

"Yah!" Alex took her hand, "com'on!" he almost pulled her over to Brandon and Caleb.

Germaine clutched her book against her chest with her free right hand, "H-hi."

"Hi, I'm Brandon. So you're like Alex?" Brandon leaned into look close, which made Germaine avert her gaze from him.

"Of course she's like me, we're friends. Wanna go on the swings?" Alex pointed to the vacant swing set.

Germaine smiled, "Yes, please."

"Cool, let's go!" Caleb took off like a shot towards the swings. Alex, Germaine and Brandon weren't far behind.

OoOoO

While he hated the lessons, Alex found that friends made school much more bearable. Brandon, Caleb and especially Germaine stayed in his class and as his friends as they moved up in grades and every weekend and summer they would get together, except Caleb was never around on Sunday mornings.

At the end of third grade it was announced that their school was being shut down and three smaller elementary schools were being merged into one huge school for all the districts they belonged to. It was somewhat nerve-wracking for all the students involved but their principal promised that they would try to keep classrooms together.

Summer came and went again and at the start of fourth grade Alex found himself on the bus heading back into school. As usual he was the first one on but now there were six stops before Brandon got on.

"Ready for this?" Alex asked as Brandon took his seat next to him.

"Dunno," Brandon shrugged, "I'm gonna miss the old school where we all met."

Alex sighed, "Yeah, but I guess we'll meet some new kids now."

"Think they're be any more animals there?" Brandon turned his head to face Alex.

Alex scratched his chin, "Hmm, maybe. You think there's more of us?"

"Yeah, I mean there's gotta be more animal people out there instead of just you two right?" Brandon put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.

Alex smiled, "Right!"

Alex and Brandon's bus was the first to arrive at the new school and they were the first off the bus. Both boys stared at the new building in awe, it was three stories tall and much larger than their old school. The outside was colorfully painted white, yellow and blue and covered in metal siding with many more windows showing the interior, a paved sidewalk that led up to the front doors.

"It's so big!" Alex said.

"It's so colorful!" Brandon said.

Both boys only stopped staring when they heard the next bus pull up behind theirs. Alex was eager to see if Germaine was on it and stood to wait for her. She wasn't but Caleb bounded off and darted over to both of them, "Alex! Brandon! Whoa look at this place, it's huge!"

"Yeah really, is Germaine on there?" Alex looked over Caleb's head as more students disembarked.

"Nah, she never was," Caleb shook his head.

"Why? Gotta crush on her?" Brandon teased.

Alex looked away, "I just wanna see her."

"Heh yeah he does," Caleb laughed.

Alex growled and blushed but turned to watch the other busses coming in.

"AHH!" Alex recognized the scream as Germaine's that came from where the fourth school bus was out of sight. He ran over and saw that Germaine was lying on the grass next to the bus, a larger boy standing over her.

"Yeesh, what kind of freak are you?" the boy snorted, "Wearing a costume like that, take that stupid tail off." He grabbed Germaine's tail and pulled.

"YAAAA! STOP PLEASE!" Germaine tried to crawl away but the boy kept pulling.

"Just! Come! Off!" The boy emphasized each word with a pull on her tail.

Alex felt his blood boil "LEAVE HER ALONE!" He charged at the older boy and tackled him onto the grass. The boy was stunned for a moment but as soon as Alex started to punch him he retaliated.

"The freaks are multiplying! Get off!" He grabbed Alex's ears and tugged them as the tried to pull the fox off him. Alex cried out in pain and bit one of the boy's arms which made him cry out in pain and punch Alex across the nose. The force dislodged Alex long enough for the boy to kick him off and grab his tail. Alex cried out in pain and kicked backwards, catching the boy in his groin, the pain made the boy let go and fall down and Alex forced himself to his feet. His nose was bleeding and he had grass stains on his pants.

Alex ran over to where Germaine still lay on the ground and helped her to stand, she had tear stains on her face and grass stains streaked her white skirt. "Are you OK?"

Germaine sniffed, "No, but thank you."

"I'll get you!" The boy's slightly higher pitched voice alerted Alex to him stand up and getting ready to charge again.

"Alright break it up!" One of the teachers had seen the commotion and came over; he grabbed both boys by their collars, "You two are coming with me, everyone else go to the auditorium now!" Everyone rushed to obey and Germaine joined Brandon and Caleb.

"Are you OK?" Brandon asked.

"I'll be fine," Germaine glanced at where Alex was being dragged off with the boy who had attacked her. She couldn't help but smile.

OoOoO

"Alex Kitun, Daniel Masterson, this is the first day ever at this new school, class hasn't even started and I have a fight on my hands." The school's principal stood in front of the two boys who were sitting with their heads down from facing him. "Because I have to go and greet everyone including you two I will give you _one_ chance to let this go so we don't disrupt this day. Next time I will not be this nice, are we clear?"

"Yes," both boys replied.

"Good, now let's get to the auditorium," the principal pointed out of his office and both boys got up and walked out with the principal right on their heels.

Alex wasn't able to sit next to his friends as everyone just packed into the auditorium, but he wasn't next to Daniel either. Thankfully Alex was still with his friends with the class assignment and with Daniel being shunted into another fourth grade class he could at least look forwards to class time, at least as much as he ever looked forwards to it.

The classroom was a huge upgrade too compared to the old school, cleaner desks with larger cubbies to store workbooks and even huge lockers at the back of the class for everyone to store things. When they were asked to share their lockers, Germaine immediately asked to share Alex's locker.

One week later Alex was on the playground during afternoon recess with his friends, playing on the much larger main play structure. Alex was on top of some parallel bars when he spotted Daniel walking over.

Alex growled, "Just stay away," he muttered.

"Huh? Is that the boy who you got in a fight with?" Brandon asked as Daniel reached the play structure.

"Yeah," Alex dropped hopped down from the bars and winced slightly as he hit the ground.

"That's right, stay down there where you belong, freak!" Daniel taunted Alex.

"Get bent!" Alex shouted back.

"Alex, please don't start anything." Germaine stood up from a bench where she had been reading a rather thick book.

"Yeesh what are you doing with that, wierdo?" Daniel marched over to Germaine and stared at the book in her hands.

Germaine looked away, "I just like to read some days."

"Leave her alone," Caleb dropped down from a ladder he was halfway up.

Daniel ignored him, "What's this?" Daniel suddenly grabbed the book from her, "weighs a ton. 'DUNE' what kinda weird book is that?"

"Give it back! It's a library book!" Germaine made a grab for the book only for the larger and stronger boy to shove her. Brandon tried to catch her but missed and she hit the ground, her glasses had been knocked off. Brandon managed to retrieve them and handed them back to Germaine. Tears dampened the raccoon's face as she put them back on, only to find her vision lopsided, one of the lenses was missing.

"Yow!" Brandon yanked his hand back as he was poked by a shard of the broken lens.

Alex was seething. His hands were bunched into fists, his teeth were bared and his eyes burned as he growled with each breath. "Leave. Us. Alone!"

"Fine, take the dumb book back!" Daniel hurled the book at Alex and it struck him in the chest.

Alex snarled and lunged at Daniel, who seemed to be expecting this and aimed a kick at Alex's groin, only to miss when Alex jumped up and knocked him onto the stony gravel.

Caleb tried to get in and stop the fight but one of Alex's fists drew back and smacked him in the face as he punched him in the face. Brandon ran to help Caleb up as Alex and Daniel fought savagely, both biting, kicking and even scratching each other when the could.

"You OK?" Brandon asked,

Caleb had a hand over his eye, "I'll be fine, what about those two?"

Any debate was stopped when two playground supervisors showed up to literally pull the boys apart. Alex and Daniel struggled for a while but were hauled away as a third supervisor came over to make sure that the other three were alright. Brandon, Caleb and Germaine were taken to the infirmary to get bandaged up while Alex and Daniel were hauled to the principal's office again.

Alex sat and stared at the floor with a sullen face as tears streaked down his face and fell to the floor. Both he and Daniel were covered in cuts, bruises had each lost at least one tooth, but at least they were just milk teeth and their adult teeth would replace them soon. The principal had dressed them down thoroughly but Alex hadn't listened until he told them he was calling both of their parents to come and pick them up and take them home, effectively leaving the punishment in their hands. Daniel seemed completely unfazed and he just sat, arms folded and stared at the principal's desk.

Daniel's mother was a tall woman wearing a business suit and she arrived first.

"Ahh, Mrs Masterson. Do you want to hear what your son did today?" the Principal asked.

"Do you have a written report for me. I only have 20 minutes to get him home and then back to the office." Mrs Masterson's voice and face seemed a million miles away as she spoke.

"No, but he was in a fight and-" the principal didn't have time to finish as Daniel's mother dragged him out of the room, which just left Alex alone with the principal.

The principal sighed, "Well, I can only hope she knows what she's doing. Now as for you, Alex, what do you think your grandparents will say?"

"I dunno," Alex still stared at the ground.

"I see." The principal sat back in his seat and waited.

Thankfully, Marian arrived shortly after that and asked Alex to wait outside while she spoke to the Principal. Alex just stood outside he office. When Marian finished talking to the principal she walked out and took Alex's hand to guide him out to the car. She didn't say anything until they were in the car and on their way home.

"Why did you get into a fight, Alex?"

"Daniel hurt Germaine, and he threw a book at me." Alex's voice was soft as he replied and stared at the car floor.

Marian nodded, "I see. Alex you shouldn't get into fights like that. Now when we get home you are to go straight to your room and only come out when Grandpa and I decide what your punishment should be, OK?"

"Yes, grandma."

Alex lay on his bed for well over an hour, not sure what to do. He didn't have any homework yet so at least there wasn't that but still… What was going to happen? He didn't have to wait long as he heard his grandpa call him.

"Alex, come into the kitchen now please."

Alex slid off his bed and walked down to the kitchen with his tail drooped so low it dragged on the ground. He had never been so nervous when he faced his grandparents before but he stood with his arms behind his back and his feet shuffling.

Alfred sighed as he watched Alex stand in front of him. "I don't think I need to say that we are very disappointed in you, Alex."

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered.

Alfred nodded, "I know you are and that's why we've decided that you're going to spend time with us and learn some things to hopefully take your mind off things."

Marian smiled, "Don't worry, we won't keep you from your friends. But you will spend time with me on the weekends learning how to cook."

"And your grandpa will show you how to build things, OK?" Alfred put a hand on Alex's shoulder.

Alex gave a weak smile, "OK, thanks."

OoOoO

Alex was surprised to find that he enjoyed the cooking lessons with his grandma and even moreso he enjoyed learning how to built and fix things with his grandpa. While Daniel remained a constant thorn in his and all his friends' sides throughout elementary school, Alex managed to avoid any more fights with him, but Daniel continued to harass them and took every opportunity to insult Alex and Germaine for their odd appearance. It seemed that Daniel couldn't get enough of getting into trouble, never enough to warrant more than a day's suspension but regardless he quickly had become the alpha-jerk of the school by the end of the fourth grade.

Life at school and at home remained largely the same over the next four years, except for the work getting harder each year. Thankfully Germaine was there to help Alex, Brandon and Caleb with their homework as things got tougher and they were all grateful for it, though Alex needed the most help and Brandon and Caleb constantly teased him about how much alone time he was spending with her, which never failed to infuriate Alex with how little of a rebuttal he could offer.

OoOoO

Over the summer after seventh grade, Alex hit a growth spurt. It wasn't obvious at first but one morning he found that all of his clothes were tight. Once Marian saw this she immediately set aside her day to take Alex clothes shopping.

Alex soon found himself in the clothing store wearing a too-tight red t-shirt and shorts that were riding up uncomfortably while his grandma and the store clerk took his measurements. Finally, they stopped and started to pull clothes off the shelves for him to try on. As was expected, Alex spent the next half-hour trying on clothes waiting until Marian was satisfied with the fit. Thankfully Alex was allowed to wear his new cargo shorts and blue t-shirt right away, Marian just tore off the tags so they could pay.

Alex scanned the store while he waited for his grandma paid and spotted something blue nearby. He grinned when he saw it was Germaine and waved to her. Germaine saw him and waved back but turned back to search through the clothing. She as with an older girl and two older boys plus an older woman. He assumed they were her foster family.

"Is that your friend, Germaine?" Marian asked as she came over and handed Alex one of the bags full of clothes.

"Yeah," Alex kept looking in Germaine's direction as he replied.

"Well why don't you go and say hello?" Marian pushed him towards her and Alex obliged, practically running over to Germaine.

"Hi," Alex smiled as he approached.

"Oh, hi, Alex," Germaine was hunched over with her arms folded over her chest. She noticed she had to look up slightly to look Alex in the eyes, "did you get taller?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah, none of my clothes fit anymore. What about you?"

Germaine fidgeted nervously, "Well… I kinda had a growth spurt, of sorts…"

Alex blinked and narrowed one eye in confusion, "Huh?"

Germaine gulped and straightened up, smoothing out the front of her pink blouse as she did so. There were two noticeable lumps on her chest. Alex stared for a moment, then both of them blushed and looked away from each other.

"I guess this is what they meant by our bodies changing in health class," Germaine turned back to look at Alex, "Anything happen to you."

Alex put his hands behind his head as the heat left his face, "I just got taller."

"Yeah, I can see that," Germaine was still blushing as she looked up at Alex. "Alex, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Alex started, "What?!"

"Do you want to go on a date with me? To a movie or out for supper," Germaine was shaking but she did her best to smile.

"Uh, sure…" Alex fidgeted.

"Alex! We have to go!" Marian called from the store entrance.

"Gotta go, call me later, bye!" Alex darted over to Marian and left Germaine smiling as she turned back to clothes shopping.

"What did you talk about with your friend?" Marian asked as she started the car.

Alex buckled in and sat back in the seat. "Germaine asked me out on a date."

"Really?" Marian smiled, "Sounds like my grandson is growing up."

"Grandma!" Alex blushed as he faced out the window.

"What do you know about going on a date?" Marian asked.

"I just spend time with her right?" Alex asked.

"Well yes, but there's more than that. You have to be kind to her, treat her like she's everything in the world, sweep her off her feet and show her you care," Marian sighed but kept her eyes on the road. "But don't invite Brandon of Caleb, if she asked you on a date that means she wants to spend time with only you."

Alex's date with Germaine was just a movie the next afternoon. As they left the theater and talked about their favorite moments Germaine leaned up against his shoulder.

"Thanks for coming with me," Germaine said as they sat down on a bench outside the lobby and waited for their parents to pick them up.

Alex blushed but smiled, "Any time."

Germaine giggled. The new feelings brought on by adolescence had started to take hold and she turned and gave Alex a kiss on the cheek. Alex could swear he felt steam come out his ears as she did and he turned to her. She smiled as him and looked up into his face.

"I like you, Alex."

"I like you too, Germaine," Alex's face was hot. Germaine smiled again and leaned in. Alex barely had time to process as she kissed him on the lips.

Germaine pulled back a moment later, her face beet red, "Sorry, I just…"

Alex touched his lips then smiled, "No, it's fine. I liked it." He saw his grandpa pull up and stood up, "Want a ride home?"

Germaine shook her head, "No, my foster-mom should be here soon. Bye."

"Bye," Alex waved then got into the car.

"So, Alex, how as your first date?" Alfred asked.

Alex watched as Germaine stood up and got in a car that pulled up behind him, then smiled, "It was nice."

OoOoO

Alex and Germaine being a couple spread rather fast once they were back in school. Some of the students teased the for it, even Caleb and Brandon, but they relented when he shouted them down. It wasn't just them either, puberty was striking everyone in the eighth grade, and as expected sex-ed was scheduled for health class that year. Pretty much no-one was happy about it but it was mandatory and at least everyone was suffering through it. Daniel seemed to take endless glee in tormenting Alex and Germaine over how they were early bloomers, and how they were probably going to go through different changes than the rest of them. Once again it nearly drove Alex over the deep end but he endured.

It wouldn't have been so bad if Daniel didn't brag about his thick chest hair.

Towards the end of the school year the eighth graders were all told that they were going to visit the local high school for a tour. A whole afternoon would be spent there to see the campus and learn about what high school would entail. Not exactly a fun field trip but still something better than classes.

On the day of the tour all the eighth grade students piled into a school bus and they were off to the high school. On the bus they were told that a couple other elementary schools would be meeting them there and that they would be in the same grade the following year.

The busses all pulled into the parking lot of the high school and everyone disembarked. Alex, Germaine, Brandon and Caleb stayed in a group together, with Brandon looking over at the other school busses. One Hispanic girl with blonde hair spotted them and her eyes went wide.

"EEE, Oh my god!" Caleb winced as the girl's words as she suddenly broke from her school's group and almost dove on Alex and Germaine.

"Whoa!" Alex was on his back foot in an instant.

"What?" Germaine nearly fell over but was caught by Brandon.

"I thought it was a joke but you're real!" the girl immediately grabbed Alex's ears and started to rub them, "Soooo fuzzy!"

"Let go of my ears!" Alex squirmed away from the girl.

"And your tail is real too!" She made a grab for Alex's tail but he snatched it up before she could grab it. Undeterred she darted over to Germaine and grabbed her tail then proceeded to rub it up against her cheek, "So soft…" she cooed.

"Please stop," Germaine blushed red and Alex, despite his hesitance, grabbed the girl and pulled her off.

"What is your problem?" Brandon asked.

"I just wanted to see if what I heard was real, but you're real animal people," She grinned, "My name's Samantha and you are?"

Alex glared at her, "Angry."

"Embarrassed," Germaine didn't trust this girl to turn her back on her again.

"Samantha! Get back here!" a teacher from the other school marched over and grabbed Samantha's arm.

"I'll see you later!" Samantha called.

"What was that about?" Caleb asked, scratching his head.

"No idea. You two OK?" Brandon turned to Alex and Germaine.

"I'll be fine, if she stays away," Alex growled.

"I'm OK, just a little rattled," Germaine gave a nervous smile. Thankfully the tour started up right away afterwards.

The high school was much older than their current elementary school but also a lot bigger. The teachers ran down what to expect, how every class was an hour and in a different classroom, there was no recess but they would get five minutes between each class and an hour lunch break, how there would be full sports teams and clubs they could join if they wished and how the school year was broken into two semesters with five different classes each. Alex groaned when they said that every teacher would assign their own homework and wouldn't care about the other teachers' assigned work as each of them expected their homework to be done in the timeframe given.

At the end of their trip they all filed out to their busses, except Samantha who bounded over to them again. Germaine cringed and Alex moved between her and Samantha as she approached.

Alex growled, "What do you want?"

"Just to say sorry, and to introduce myself. I'm Samantha Dorr, and you are?" she extended a hand towards Alex.

Alex eyed her suspiciously but took her hand, "Alex Kitun."

"So fuzzy," Samantha gripped his hand a bit too tightly.

Germaine stepped aside and gave a short bow, "I'm Germaine Siedleman."

"Brandon Larson," Brandon stepped forwards and offered his hand, which Samantha shook, albeit less enthusiastically than she had with Alex.

"Caleb, I'd rather not give my last name," Caleb didn't offer a hand as he introduced himself.

"Well I guess I'll see you all next year, bye!" Samantha ran back to join her school before her teacher got mad again.

"Great… we have to put up with her in high school," Alex growled then sighed.

"Just stay close and we'll protect you if you need it," Caleb offered.

Germaine smiled, "Thanks."

OoOoO

There wasn't really a graduation ceremony for elementary school, but every eighth grader received a diploma and congratulations from their principal. Alex secretly hoped that Daniel would flunk out but it wasn't to be.

The first day of summer, Alex's grandparents told Alex to stick around after lunch. Alex was nervous but he stayed seated at the table after lunch anyway.

Alfred coughed slightly, he was bald now and covered in wrinkles but he still had the strong demeanor that Alex had come to know. "Alex, we're moving."

"What?!" Alex practically jumped at the news.

Marian reached over and put a hand on the fox's shoulder. She had gone grey and was just as wrinkled as her husband, but she needed to walk with a cane when she wasn't next to a wall or counter. "Just listen for a moment, Alex."

Alfred nodded to his wife then continued, "We're getting on in years and you're starting high school next year. There won't be a school bus that picks you up every day so you'll have to walk, take the city bus, or have use drive you." He coughed a couple times, "Now we can drive you in bad weather but it's going to get harder for us to drive you every day, so we're moving somewhere closer to where you're going to school. Close enough to walk."

"Also here," Marian picked up a map off the counter and spread it on the table, "We found a home on the same street your friend Caleb lives, it's close enough to Brandon's house for you to meet up on the way to school and close to where your girlfriend Germaine lives."

Alex blushed but his tail wagged when he heard that. "So when are we moving?"

"All month. It's going to take a while to move everything over there and get everything set up," Alfred coughed, "But we'll be living here until August, OK."

"OK."

OoOoO

While they could have moved all at once, Alfred and Marian had a hard time letting go of their old house and there were issues with buying the house plus selling their old one. It took two weeks of negotiations to get a good price on each and thankfully it didn't require them to pay too much to own their new house. The third week of July was when the day to move came, but by the time everything was ready to move it was too late for Alex, Alfred and Marian to move to the new house, so they decided to spend the night in their old house one last time. Alfred and Marian convinced the movers to come back for their bed in the morning and Alex slept in an old sleeping bag in the living room.

Alex was awakened not by an alarm or the sun, but by heat and the smoke alarm. Alex coughed as he woke up only to find that the house was on fire! "Grandma, Grandpa!" Alex coughed as he shouted but was forced to stay low because of the smoke.

Alex barely remembered what happened next. There was smoke, sirens, and before took long a fireman had managed to force the door open and Alex was carried to safety. He sat with a wet blanket over his shoulders and an oxygen mask shoved over his muzzle, it was uncomfortable with his nose pressed up against the plastic but he didn't complain. He tried to get up when he saw the ambulance pull up but he was to tired and even with the mask he wasn't in a good enough state to do anything except listen.

"What started the fire?"

"I think it was some idiot kids that set off some fireworks nearby. We found the remains of a firework in the garden, not to mention it's been a dry summer so far. The police are searching for them now."

"What about the fox?"

"He's legally registered as their son and he's a legal citizen. We should get him to the hospital."

Alex passed out shortly after that.

OoOoO

Alex was numb. His grandparents had died of smoke inhalation. He barely registered what happened as he was shuttled around to the police and his grandparents' funeral before he ended up in front of some legal people who were pouring over several documents.

"He has to go to a foster home, he's only 14."

The other shook his head, "Marian and Alfred put through legal paperwork so he doesn't have to. He's been emancipated, or at least the equivalent here in Canada." He pulled out some other paperwork, "According to their will, 'We leave all our worldly possessions and any money in our savings account and from insurance to our adopted son, or grandson if he prefers, Alex Kitun to use as he sees fit for as long as he shall live.' Don't try to screw the kid over, he's had it hard enough already."

"So where do we send him?"

"His new house. Most of their stuff was moved in the day of the fire so at least he won't be missing anything important. Alex, are you listening."

"Yeah…" Alex mumbled, "can I go?"

"Very well. We'll get you a lift to your new house. Will you be alright?"

Alex didn't reply.

OoOoO

Alex just lay on his bed for the rest of the day. In this new house he couldn't even smell his grandparents anymore. He didn't even bother to turn on the lights as the sun went down and he slowly drifted off.

The next day Alex just wandered around his new house and tried to get his bearings. There was no second floor to the house but the basement and main floor were a lot bigger than they had been.

Alex was idly flipping through channels on the TV, not really caring what he saw, when he heard knocking at the front door. He shut off the TV and reluctantly answered the door, only to find Caleb standing there.

"Oh, hi Caleb. How did you know I was here?" he couldn't even look his friend in the face.

"Your grandparents told my parents you were moving here. Can I come in?" he looked past Alex to see the dark and empty house behind him.

"Sure," Alex stepped back from the door to let his friend in and returned to the couch.

Caleb sat down next to him, "How're ya holding up?"

"Badly," Alex just stared ahead.

Caleb put a hand around his shoulder, "I know they're watching over you."

Alex clenched his hands into fists, "I don't want them watching over me, I want them here with me."

Caleb winced, "I know. Want to come to the park with me?"

Alex sighed and carefully removed Caleb's hand from his shoulder. "Not today. Please just leave me alone."

Caleb gave Alex a concerned look then stood up off his couch. "OK. I'll see you later." He left without another word. Alex drew his knees up to his chest and cried.

OoOoO

Alex ended up spending the whole night on the couch, not even bothering to get up and go to his bed. The next day the only thing he really cared about doing was having a shower, so at least he wouldn't stink. Once he was clean he didn't even bother getting dressed and just sat around in his bare fur until he dried. It was only then that Alex realized how hungry he was, not having eaten at all since the fire. He checked the fridge and decided to try making some stir fry with chicken and the vegetables that were available: green peppers, broccoli and carrots.

Half an hour later Alex was putting the finishing touches on his stir fry when he heard a knock on the front door. He turned the stove off and answered, not caring that he still wasn't dressed.

Caleb, Brandon and Germaine were on his front step and all three immediately averted their gaze from the fox; Germaine even blushed.

"You know, dude, you still shouldn't answer the door in your birthday suit," Brandon held up a hand to block his peripheral vision.

Alex snorted, "Give me a break, you can't see any 'anatomy' through my fur. Come in, I just made lunch." Alex motioned for them to enter then marched back to the kitchen to check the rice he had boiled in a clear-lidded pot next to the wok.

Their slight revulsion was quelled when they smelled Alex's food. He pulled out four bowls from the cupboard, four spoons from a drawer and some soy sauce from the fridge, "Dig in," He offered as he spooned some rice into his bowl, poured some soy sauce over it then layered his stir fry over top of it. Each of his friends loaded up their bowls in turn and joined him on the couch.

Brandon took a drink and smiled, "Mmmm, it's good. Did your grandma teach you how to make this?" Caleb tapped Brandon's shoulder and glared at him which made Brandon gulp, and swallow his mouthful.

Alex shook his head, "No, but I found an Asian cook book that showed me how to make stuff like this. I just made this from scratch."

"It's very good, she'd be proud of you," Germaine said, finally letting herself at him.

Alex smiled, "Thanks."

They ate and conversed about their summers for a few more minutes. Alex stayed mostly silent and took three full servings of stir fry and rice until he was satisfied. Half an hour later they heard a knock at the door. Alex had his mouth full and he glared at the door, swallowed then went to answer.

"Whoa! Alex!" Brandon was up and had grabbed Alex's shoulder, "Maybe get dressed before you greetopppppppppppppppppplollllllllllllllllll someone you don't know."

Alex groaned, "Fine!" he turned and stomped away to his bedroom.

"It's not that big a deal, Brandon," Germaine said, "Our fur really does hide everything."

"It still feels weird, even if I can't see his junk." There was another knock at the door and Brandon went to answer it.

Samantha was standing on the front step. "Hi!" she grinned at him, "Are Alex and Germaine here."

Brandon glared at her, "That's none of your business and if they are I don't think they'd want to see you."

Samantha looked over Brandon's shoulder and saw Germaine, who had averted her gaze from the front door. Samantha waved and grinned, "Hi Germaine!" Germaine didn't respond.

Alex re-entered the room with a blue t-shirt halfway on, "Who's that- oh…" he glared once he had his head through the shirt's neck. "What are you doing here?"

"I live three blocks away and I saw you three come into this house. I had to eat lunch but I decided I should drop by and say hi," Samantha answered.

Brandon spread his arms and legs to completely block the door, "Well you said hi, so can you go now?"

"Yeesh, what crawled up your butts?" Samantha rolled her eyes.

Alex growled, "My grandparents died."

Almost instantly, Samantha's cheery demeanor vanished. "Oh…I didn't know…"

"Yeah well you know now, so fuck off!" Alex shouted. Everyone else winced when he swore and Brandon stepped back to close the door.

"Wait! I'm sorry. Can I help?!" Samantha asked before the door shut in her face. She pounded on the door and rang the doorbell several times before the door flew open and she found Germaine in her face.

The blue raccoon's face had lost its nearly constant soft demeanor and her eyes narrowed as she glared at Samantha, "Alex doesn't need someone trying to feel him up right now, he needs his friends." Germaine hissed at Samantha which made her take a step back.

"I'd like to be your friend, if I can." Samantha's voice was sincere.

"Should we let her in?" Caleb asked.

Alex growled then sighed, "Just for now or she'll never go away." He looked up at the front door, "Just keep your hands to yourself, OK?"

"I promise," Samantha put a hand over her heart. Germaine still glared at her and backed away, not trusting her enough to turn her back as she walked back to the couch.

Samantha found she didn't have a place to sit so she just stood near the coat closet by the door. "What happened?"

"Some jackasses were setting off fireworks near my house and one set it on fire." Alex took in a shuddering breath as anger and sorrow began to fight within him, "They died from smoke inhalation."

"So…you live here alone now?" Samantha looked around the living room and spotted the doorways to the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

"Yeah. Grandma and Grandpa took me to do some legal stuff just in case this happened, and I have the insurance money and inheritance to keep me going through school." Alex too a deep breath to calm her nerves, "Want some stir fry?"

Samantha sniffed then shook her head, "No thanks, I already ate. Smells good though. So what are you going to do?"

Alex sighed, "I don't know. I have a month until school starts and then I have no idea."

Caleb finally scooted over to let Samantha sit down on the L-shaped couch. "OK I have to ask: why do you have a thing for these two?"

Samantha grinned as she took her seat, "I just love animal people, I have ever since I saw the cartoon Robin Hood movie so seeing a real one is just so!" she almost squealed as she said this. "I have to ask: how do you manage your tails?"

"Grandma just sewed holes into the back of my pants, I never got the hang of it though," Alex sighed.

"I usually wear skirts, but my foster-mom's maid showed me how to sew it into pants." Germaine turned to Alex, "I can help you with that when you need new clothes."

Alex smiled, "Thanks."

"I see." Samantha tried to lean to get a look at Alex's tail, but wasn't able too. "So now what?"

"Now, you can all leave. I'd like to be alone for a bit," Alex was about to stand when Brandon grabbed his arm.

"No way, dude, we're not letting you lock yourself up in this place all summer. Let's go out, get some air, do something fun today."

Alex sighed, "I don't feel like having fun."

"Let's go the park at least, I mean it's better than staying cooped up in here right?" Samantha looked at the other four.

"Not a bad idea, let's go," Caleb stood up.

"OK," Germaine stood up and took Alex's hand.

Alex finally relented, "Alright." They headed out after Alex retrieved his keys and locked the door. As they left.

Samantha was more-or-less forced to walk alongside Caleb and Brandon with Alex and Germaine bringing up the rear.

"I missed you," Germaine said. "I wanted to come over after I heard what happened but…I wasn't sure you wanted to see me."

Alex averted his eyes from her and frowned, his hands in his pockets, "I don't know if I wanted to see anyone, but I'm happy you showed up. Thanks, Germaine."

Germaine giggled and gave him a kiss, "You're welcome. How would you like it if I moved in with you?"

Alex somehow turned even redder at the suggestion, "You want to live with me?" he asked. "I mean…I'd like it if I wasn't living alone in that house all day and…I'd love to see you…every…" he trailed off and tugged at his collar.

Germaine smiled and took one of his hands in his own, "I'd like to live with someone who likes me, instead of six foster-siblings I barely know, especially with you."

"When did you become such a flirt, Germaine?" Brandon shouted.

Germaine blushed right down to the tip of her tail, "You weren't supposed to hear that!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have flirted when we were this close then," Caleb laughed which made Brandon and Samantha crack up too.

Now thoroughly embarrassed, Germaine let go of Alex's hand and slowed her pace and almost fell behind him until Alex took her hand again. He was still embarrassed but he gently tugged her arm, "Wanna race them to the park?"

Germaine smile and nodded, "OK." A moment later they took off with a flash, their tails flying out like colorful streamers as they ran past the other three.

"Hey! Wait up!" Brandon shouted and he, Caleb and Samantha took off after them.

By the time they reached the playground the three humans were out of breath but Alex and Germaine seemed none the worse for wear, save for some heavier breathing.

"Was that fun?" Alex asked Germaine. Both of their embarrassments had evaporated in the run to the park.

Germaine nodded then took a deep breath to try and calm her heart, "Yeah, thank you."

"OK…now…that…you…did…that…can…we…take…a…break!" Caleb panted out.

"Yeah, go ahead," Alex looked over at the small swing set and sighed, "I wish we were still short enough to use those."

Alex and Germaine were a bit shorter than their friends but they stood at 150cm and 145cm in height respectively. Brandon was the tallest and stood a half a head taller than Alex with Caleb and Samantha in between their sizes.

"We should go to Candy Cane Park some time. They still have equipment big enough for us to have fun on." Germaine said.

"We've got all summer, why not?" Alex smiled.

"Yeesh, figures your candy colored asses would wanna go there."

Alex felt his tail go rigid as he heard that voice, "Does every kid I know live near me now?" he growled. He turned to see Daniel approaching. The boy was scratching at his chest through his shirt and smugly grinning at them.

"Get outta my sight, Daniel!" Alex growled, "I'm in no mood today!"

"No mood for what, ugg," Daniel scratched at his chest again. "Yeesh, so you brought the furry with you too. What are you trying to do, make a furry cult?"

Alex was about to advance on him when Germaine put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head before she turned to Daniel, "Please, just leave us alone. We're dealing with enough right now."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Psshh! Like what? Dead parents!"

Alex almost tore away from Germaine as he snarled at Daniel, "YES you idiot my grandparents are dead!"

Daniel blinked, "Wow really? Did you do something?"

"No, fuckwit! Did you set off the fireworks there!? Did you kill them!?" Alex was about to charge when Brandon darted forwards and helped Germaine to hold him back.

"Easy! Don't say stuff like that, Alex!" Brandon cautioned.

"Yeesh, take a chill pill freak! I don't do shit with fireworks so how do I know you didn't do that to them?" Daniel asked.

"GRAAAH! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT BEFORE I TEAR YOU- MPHM!" Alex found his mouth covered by Germaine's hand.

"Just leave now, or we might let him go," Germaine glared at Daniel and Samantha and Caleb walked up to give support.

Daniel glared then rolled his eyes and turned away, scratching at his chest, "Fine, whatever. Smell ya later!" he flipped them off as he walked away.

OoOoO

Daniel wandered around town for a while and didn't return home until the sun was almost set. He looked up at the house from the front step, a house that was twice the size of the other houses nearby, and stepped inside.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" he shouted. No answer, as usual.

Daniel sighed and trudged over to the kitchen, still scratching at his chest, "Damn chest hair, I need to shave," he muttered. He dug some leftovers out of the fridge and stuck them in the microwave. While he waited for his food to heat up he pulled off his shirt. His chest was covered in a thicker layer of black hair than boys three years older than him had.

Daniel sighed as he watched his dinner rotating. His parents were always working, always. When they weren't doing their regular hours they had negotiations or meetings or business trips they had to attend to keep their businesses secure and his parents were home less and less now that he was old enough to be home alone any time. Daniel had heard that his feelings on the matter were known as "cognitive dissonance": he wanted them to stop working so much and spend time with him but he knew that their hard work was the reason he always had money to spend on whatever he wanted, a big house and comfortable furniture wherever he wanted. The conflict drove him to do stupid things to force their attention on to him and lashing out at Alex and Germaine was just the easiest thing for him to do.

Daniel devoured his supper then trudged up to bed, still scratching at his chest hair. He plopped into bed without even bothering to change out of his cargo shorts and did his best to try and sleep. His window was open to let the cool air in and his ceiling fan was on but still he was sweating.

Then a bright light shone through the window and he heard a voice. _"Daniel Masterson. You have tormented and bullied those two for far too long. I had hoped that when you heard about the deaths of Marian and Alfred you would cease your torture of them but I see that you haven't."_

"What the hell?" Daniel blinked as the light somehow shone down on him. He didn't see it but the hair on his chest turned white.

" _But I think your defiance could prove beneficial and you seek a better life for yourself. It will be a long time before you find your place but you need to feel the change now."_

"What the- ooooh!" Daniel groaned as his whole body started to tingle. His chest hair spread outwards, his entire front covered in white hair, or rather fur, and grey fur spreading up his arms, neck and down his legs, his feet becoming larger blunt paws as the fur covered them. Daniel cried out in pain as a short stubby tail covered in grey fur grew out of his spine and his head rearranged itself: his nose pushing out and merging with his upper lip, his ears rounding off and moving up the sides of his head and black fur spread up the sides of his head except for a single white stripe that ran from his now white muzzle and across the middle of his head. As a final touch the tip of his nose turned into a dark grey valentine heart.

Daniel panted as his new fur made him start sweating profusely. He reached over to the remote control on his bedside table and turned on the air conditioner in his window. The loud rumbling made it too hard to sleep so Daniel stumbled over to the bathroom next to his bedroom and turned on the water tap. He splashed water on his face and shuddered as the water caught in his fur. He groped for the light and the looked into the mirror, only to see the face of a humanlike badger staring back at him.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Daniel was out into the night and running before he knew it.

OoOoO

A week later, Alex, Germaine, Caleb, Brandon and their new friend Samantha were at Candy Cane Park. It was the largest park in the city, right next to the science center and IMAX theater. Because it was summer time there were a bunch of families there and most of them stopped to stare at Alex and Germaine, but they were too used to it to really care anymore.

"I haven't been here since I was a kid," Alex sighed wistfully.

"You still are a kid," Samantha grinned and stroked his ear.

Alex growled, "Not legally."

"Oh come on, let's have fun!" Brandon whooped and took off.

Most of the playground equipment was actually big enough for the five teenagers to have fun on, granted the big goose shaped slide was too small for them but they could climb up on top of it to get a good view of the park, at least until people shouted at them to get down. Regardless their day fun right up until Alex heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"HEY FOX! LOOK WHAT YOU FREAKS DID TO ME!"

The shout caused everyone nearby to freeze in place and turn to face a very angry humanoid badger dressed only in cargo shorts that bore down on Alex, his hands clenched into fists.

Alex turned, "Daniel? No who are you?"

"I am Daniel, you, you, RRRAAAAUUGGH!" the badger pounced on Alex who had no time to react as he was knocked off his feet. Alex recovered quickly enough to retaliate but the badger's strength was greater than his and he tried to get his jaws around Alex's neck. He would have succeeded if several adults, Brandon, Caleb and Samantha rushed to pull him off. The badger lashed out at them and shook them off then turned and bolted away.

Half an hour later, the police and animal control had arrived after hearing about the badger attack. Alex was being treated by a nursing station attendant, who was on hand just in case any children got hurt (which was more often than most would like to admit). Alex winced as cuts from the badger's claws were treated with disinfectant; bandages weren't an option because of his fur.

The police came over to question Alex. "So a badger attacked you for no reason. Was he like you two," he looked over at Germaine for a moment.

Alex nodded, "Yeah, but I've never seen him before."

"I see," the officer wrote down what he said then looked to see a couple of officers questioning the parents and even listening to the kids, "Well as long as we get the same story from everyone else you should be fine. Did you see where he ran off to?"

Alex pointed north, "That way, I think, I was on the ground when he ran off. Am I under arrest, officer?"

The officer shook his head, "No, you're not. I'll contact you later tonight to let you know what the situation is but unless we get a lot of conflicting reports you shouldn't have to worry. Now then, Germaine, can you tell me what happened?"

Alex sighed as he listened to the officer question each of his friends. When Germaine was finished answering she sat down next to him. "Do you think it was Daniel?"

"It sounded like him, but I've never see that badger before. I have no idea," Alex leaned back to stare at the sky.

"I guess we'll find out in school." Germaine leaned up against Alex. Alex winced because of his injuries but still put an arm around her.

"Were you serious when you asked to move in with me?"

Germaine blushed, "Maybe…yes."

"Really?" Alex turned to look at her, eyes wide in surprise.

Germaine giggled, "Really. I like you, Alex, and you said you didn't want to be alone. My foster mom knows we're together though she keeps telling me to…use protection…" she blushed fiercely.

Alex blushed as well, "I see, I'm not ready for that kinda thing yet."

Germaine shook her head, "Me either, but I think it would be nice to just lie next to each other without clothes and snuggle up together…" she couldn't stop blushing.

"Maybe you could sleep over for most of the summer," Alex looked away from her.

"I'd like that," Germaine smiled.

"We could all do that if you want." Samantha plopped herself down next to the two.

Alex glared at her, "Yeah…no, naked humans would still feel weird."

"Just something to think about," Samantha winked then got up to rejoin their friends.

"Even if we're friends, she still disturbs me a bit," Germaine said.

"Definitely," Alex nodded.

OoOoO

Daniel the badger had been on the street for a week since his transformation and now he ran all the way home. He was fortunate that he still had his house keys in the pocket of his pants and he fumbled it into the lock of the front door and slammed it behind him. She leaned back against the front door and listened for the sound of sirens. He tensed as one came close then relaxed as it faded into the distance. His stomach growled and he went to the kitchen to search for food. As usual no one was home so at least he could stay here for a while. He grabbed some cold pizza from the fridge and all but inhaled it, at least his tastes hadn't changed.

OoOoO

Germaine spent an increasing number of nights at Alex's house throughout the summer and by the time winter rolled around she had essentially moved in with him. By Christmas they were even sleeping in the same bed but they never took it farther than that. Between their growing relationship and the new intensity of high school work, Alex was at least distracted from the tragedy of his grandparents' death and even started to recover.

Daniel wasn't seen until school started a month later. Everyone was shocked by his change, though many who knew him considered it karma for how he had treated Alex and Germaine throughout elementary school.

Despite protests, Samantha finally convinced them to have a five-person sleepover, and have a game a strip poker. Needless to say it was an eventful night but thankfully nothing regrettable happened, save for tons of embarrassment.

Daniel mostly avoided everyone at school and just focused on his schoolwork. Despite the change he managed to get to the top of his classes. His parents barely registered his change but even when they noticed they still accepted him, as much as they could be bothered to at least.

It wasn't until June of their 10th grade year, almost two years after Daniels change, that Alex and Daniel finally started talking to each other.

It was the park downtown where both had decided to take the bus home after school and needed to transfer. It was Friday and neither was in a hurry to get home, Daniel didn't care enough and Germaine was staying after school to help with something for the end of the year celebrations.

Alex was sitting on a bench when a small rock struck him in the face. "OW! What the hell!?" he turned to see Daniel the Badger with a baseball bat in one hand and with seething look on his face. "What's tour deal now?" Alex got up and searched around for some kind of weapon.

"These last two years have been torture! I'm a freak and I can't handle it anymore! No one will give me the time of day and it's all your fault!" Daniel pointed the baseball bat at Alex.

Alex growled, "No one talks to you because you treat everyone like shit! None of this is my fault!"

"I don't give a shit! I'm beating this out of you now!" Daniel gripped the baseball bat in both hands and charged at Alex. Alex dodged aside and found a branch on the ground. He blocked, another swing the kicked out at Daniel's legs which knocked him down. Alex jumped up and ran, doing his best to put some distance between them but Daniel was up on his feet a moment later and he charged at him. Alex rounded on him and held up his branch, ready to defend himself or even attack if he need. Daniel closed in and swung at Alex's head and Alex swung sideways, aiming for Daniel's side.

There was a sudden flash of green and in an instant someone had jumped in between them. It was a bear, a lime green bear like them with fierce reddish brown eyes dressed in a green t-shirt cut low to expose a red and pink multi-hearted tattoo on his chest, blue jeans, running shoes and a brown cargo vest. In each of his hands he had a sword, not a toy but a real steel sword each of which had blocked the makeshift weapons Alex and Daniel had swung at each other with the blades embedded deep into the wood.

He spoke slowly and deliberately, "Don't start a fight."

Alex and Daniel were stunned, but they both answered in the same instant, "Who the hell are you!?"


	16. Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town!

watch?v=EEUb6LioH38

 _When everything's new it's hard to get in the groove_

 _Don't stumble around it's time to make your move_

 _'Cause baby you shine and I'm sure that you'll make it in time_

 _Oh, yeah_

 _Just kick it up and don't give up, ridin' on a new wave_

 _There's nothing really to it, it's not a mystery_

 _Come on let's go it's time to show, everything you've learned_

 _'cause Now you can finally see_

 _You're not a joke you fit right in_

 _So shake it off and give a grin_

 _Don't be afraid to stand your ground_

Chapter 16: _CRAZY NOISY BIZARRE TOWN!_

Love Heart didn't have to strain to hold back the fox and badger's branches. He looked from one to the other and noticed that the badger's left eye was green and his right eye was blue. He stood up and twisted his swords which wrenched the branches from their hands. Alex was a bit too stunned to resist but Daniel kept firm grip for an instant before the branch was torn from his hands. Love Heart swung his swords to dislodge the branches.

By now Alex had recovered and was starting to fume, "OK, who the hell are you and why do you look like us?"

"My name is Love Heart Bear and I'm a Care Bear, and so are both of you," Love Heart stepped back to keep both of them in his vision.

Alex stared at Love Heart, his mouth hung open and his left eye half-squinted. He shook his head the growled, "Fuck this! I'm going home!" He turned and stomped away.

"Wait!" Love Heart dropped his swords, which vanished as they hit the ground, and ran after Alex.

As soon as he felt Love Heart's hand on his shoulder, Alex whirled around and punched Love Heart right on the nose. "Leave me alone!" he shouted before he turned and jogged towards the nearby bus stop.

Love Heart had his hand over his nose, which was bleeding slightly, "That didn't go well."

"That's putting it mildly."

Love Heart turned towards the snarky voice and found Daniel behind him, where he stood with his arms folded across his chest. "Didn't think he'd just storm off or punch you." Daniel looked back over his shoulder, "Where did your swords go?"

"They disperse when I don't need them any more." Love Heart's chest symbol glowed and a moment later another sword appeared in his right hand.

Daniel jumped back, "Holy shit! How the hell did you do that!?"

Love Heart blinked and gave Daniel a perplexed expression before he dispersed his sword again, "It's magic."

"Really? I mean…damn," Daniel put a hand to his forehead, "I want to say you're full of crap but I just saw that and," he held up his hand, looking at the dark grey fur that now covered it, "I guess I didn't change into this naturally." Daniel's eyes narrowed and he glared at Love Heart, "If you can use magic then can you tell me how the hell I changed into this?" He swung his arms down to indicate his entire body.

Love Heart shook his head, "Sorry, I don't know."

Daniel groaned, "Well that was a waste of time. So why are you even here?"

Love Heart stopped and put a hand over his chest symbol as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I came here because my mom told me there were more Care Bears here."

"I'm a badger, not a bear," Daniel interjected.

"OK so you're a Care Badger, but that's not the point. My mom said there were more care…animals here so I came here to meet you and…" Love Heart paused.

Daniel tapped his foot, "And what?"

Love Heart took a deep breath as he thought about what he was going to say, "Honestly, I don't know what my plan was. I had to catch a flight in a hurry. It's a long story."

Daniel sighed then turned and motioned for Love Heart to follow him, "Tell me later, if you just got here I guess you can stay with me."

"Really?" Love Heart walked up alongside Daniel then matched his pace.

"Yeah, mom and dad won't mind a houseguest," Daniel muttered his next line, "If they even notice." He spoke up enough for Love Heart to head, "Do you have bus fare?"

"I think so," Love Heart dug his wallet out of his pants pocket and opened the change pouch, "Do they take cash?"

"Yup, still do. My stop's over here."

OoOoO

Brandon, Caleb and Samantha had opted to walk home after school. It was longer but for the most part none of them wanted to put up with the needlessly roundabout route the busses took.

"I don't get why Alex didn't want to walk with us," Brandon put his arms behind his head as he walked, "The bus takes twice as long."

"Some days you just don't feel like walking after six hours of school," Samantha walked with her hands in her pants pockets, "I was tempted to take a ride today but I really didn't want to have to wait downtown for the bus again."

Caleb looked over at her, "Samantha, why do you hang out with us? Alex and Germaine aren't even here."

Samantha stopped, "Well…because we're friends."

Caleb blinked, "We are? I mean…I guess we are, I just…"

"It's fine," Brandon waved off Caleb's concern, "Yeah we're friends, but you did kinda latch onto the two animal people without getting to know any of us at first."

"Don't you have other friends?" Caleb asked.

Samantha sighed. "Not really. My elementary school didn't exactly give me any time to make friends."

Caleb put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry."

Samantha brightened up and wrapped her arms around both of their shoulders, "No worries, I have you guys now and that's better. Besides we can always email if we have to split apart right?"

Brandon chuckled, "Heheh, or use instant messengers if we need to." He carefully extracted himself from her arm, "Wanna stop at the store before we go our separate ways?"

"Sure, I'm in," Caleb said.

"You bet," Samantha grinned and walked out ahead of them.

As they left the store they saw Alex disembark from the bus a block down the road. Samantha grinned and waved, "Hey Alex! Over here!"

Alex was scowling when he heard the voice. He looked up and gave a half-hearted wave, "Hi." His voice was barely audible over the distance. Despite his apparent bad mood, Alex walked slow enough for his friends to catch up.

Caleb noticed the fox's scowl and passed him a jerky stick, "Jerky for your thoughts?"

Alex took the package and tore off the wrapping, "Thanks, Caleb," He tore into the spiced meat with relish and swallowed before he continued, "I had a run in with Daniel downtown, he tried to smash my head in with a tree branch."

"Yikes! Did you kick his ass?" Brandon asked before he took a drink from the full cup of pop he had in his hand.

"Tried to but this green bear called Love Heart got in our way," Alex puffed out his cheeks then ate the rest of his jerky stick, "I bolted before he could say anything else."

Brandon coughed and spluttered into his drink. Samantha gaped, "A green bear? With a heart on his nose like you and Germaine?"

Alex touched the red valentine heart on the tip of his nose, "Yeah, he had a weird tattoo on his chest too."

"You could see his chest?" Samantha gave Alex a perplexed look.

"Yeah, his shirt's neckline was down to here," Alex touched his shirt collar and drew his finger down to the middle of his chest, "I didn't get a good look but it looked like a bunch of hearts."

"Through his fur?" Caleb asked.

Alex stopped, "Yeah…how the hell did that tattoo show through his fur?" Alex groaned and held his head, "Not to mention those swords he had."

"Swords?" Caleb asked. He, Brandon and Samantha turned to face him.

Alex nodded and held out his arms, pantomiming what had happened, "Me and Daniel were about to beat the crap out of each other with big tree branches when he jumped in between us and blocked both of us with these swords he had. I didn't see much because I bolted right after that." Alex didn't wait for their reaction and walked past them to head for home.

Samantha raced to catch up to Alex, "So there's more of you guys out there?"

"I guess so, but I really don't want to think about that tonight," Alex sighed, "I just want to get the last of my homework done, watch some TV and go to bed."

"With Germaine?" Samantha whispered.

Alex blushed and did his best to change the subject, "Want to come over to my house for supper guys?"

Samantha smirked at his verbal dodge but didn't comment on, "I'd love you."

"Count me in!" Brandon jogged up to join then. Caleb was drinking but nodded.

Alex was grateful none of them had questioned him further as they got to his house. "Anyone in the mood for hot dogs?" he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Sounds good to me," Caleb dropped his bag of snacks on the coffee table.

OoOoO

"MOM! DAD! I'M HOME!" Daniel waited for a moment then shook his head, "Welp, guess we're alone, come in," Daniel motioned for Love Heart to follow him inside.

The inside of Daniel's home was too clean for Love Heart and he felt an involuntary shudder as he stepped inside and searched around. "Where are they?"

"Work, probably, I stopped keeping track a while ago," Daniel headed for the kitchen, "Let's see…nothing, nothing, nothing, garbage, bad meat? Nope, good cheese. Crap," Daniel shut the refrigerator door, "Mind if I order pizza?" Daniel had started to dial before Love Heart had a chance to answer. "Meat lovers OK?"

"Sure," Love Heart barely listened as he wandered into the living room as he took in the rest of the house. It was pristine, shiny, and looked like it was never lived in. Sterile would be an appropriate word. Couch, a couple chairs, a flat screen TV, but all of it felt like it had been placed there just to make the place look less empty.

Daniel stepped out of the kitchen and watched Love Heart, "Are you OK?"

Love Heart shook his head to clear his head and turned to Daniel, "Yeah, it's just quiet in here."

"Get used to that. Mom and dad are never around," Daniel plopped down on the right side couch and leaned on the armrest before he turned on the TV.

Love Heart sat down on the opposite end and turned to look at Daniel, who was channel surfing. "Can you live without your parents around?"

"I've managed. Maybe I'm not eating the best but I stopped caring two years ago," Daniel looked down at his stomach. His shirt was tight over the pudge he'd developed since he transformed. He shrugged and went back to the TV, sighed then shut it off, "I want them to be around more, to notice that something's wrong, but they aren't. Every time I think about complaining how they aren't around I remember that that's the only reason that I can live like this, able to do whatever I want as long as I get good grades. Even getting into trouble doesn't seem to make them notice me." He looked over at Love Heart, "why do you even care?"

Love Heart paused for a moment and considered the question: why did he care? Daniel glared at him and opened his mouth to speak when Love Heart answered, "Because you sound like you need someone to care about you. I guess it's just part of who I am: I'm a Care Bear so I just care regardless of who you are, if you're not trying to hurt me or anyone I care about."

Daniel snorted, "Right, well if you care then tell me, since I'm so out of shape what are you going to do?"

Love Heart looked the pudgy badger up and down for a moment before he answered, "Help you get some exercise and teach you magic."

Daniel blinked, "What, for real? You'll teach me magic?"

"You're not surprised?" Love Heart quirked his eyebrow.

Daniel snorted, "I remember being changed into this and I saw you pull sword out of your chest and make them vanish into thin air, I'd be stupid if I thought magic wasn't real. So what can you teach me?"

Love Heart couldn't help but smile, "Elemental Magic called kinetics and our own Care Bear Magic."

"Why do you keep saying Care Bear when you're the only bear like us? Is your whole family bears?" Daniel glared at Love Heart from under his eyelids.

"Just my dad, and I never thought about it. I guess because 'care bear' rhymes?" Love Heart shrugged.

Daniel tilted his head to the side, "Only your dad's a bear? What's your mom? A Lion?"

"No, she's a Unicorn."

Daniel coughed for a second then stared at Love Heart, who wore a straight face, "Are you serious, a fucking unicorn?"

"Yes," Love Heart pointed to his forehead where Daniel saw his fur was a darker shade of green in the shape of an eight-pointed star, "I got this birthmark from my mom, it shows that I'm half-unicorn."

Daniel groaned, "I don't know why I'm surprised." At that moment the doorbell sounded an Daniel went to retrieve their meals. He paid the perplexed delivery boy then set the pizza box down on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Dig in," he said, as he grabbed a slice from the pizza and bit into it.

Love Heart looked at the pizza in front of him. It was a lot thicker than he was used to and a lot greasier. He sniffed then took a bite and was slightly overwhelmed by just how soggy the crust was.

Daniel saw Love Heart making faces while he was chewing. "New experience for you?"

Love Heart had to practically force himself to swallow, "I've never had pizza this thick or greasy before."

Daniel took another bite and swallowed, "It's kind of a unique thing to Regina, or so I've been told."

"No wonder you're so pudgy," Love Heart wanted to put the slice down but he forced himself to finish it, gagging all the way. "Ugg, no more…"

"Fine, more for me." Daniel grabbed a second piece and bit in. Love Heart went to the kitchen and dug around in the fridge for something more palatable, and found some carrots to munch on.

Thankfully it was only a small pizza and ten minutes later Daniel had eaten his fill and put the rest in the fridge. "Alright so can we start learning magic now?" he turned to Love Heart who had finally finished his own meal.

Love Heart hummed, "Well, I can show you what I can do, and maybe give you your chest symbol."

"What's a chest symbol?" Daniel asked.

Love Heart pulled his collar down, "This is my chest symbol. Every Care Bear gets one and it's the medium that we use our kind of magic through." He released his collar but Daniel noticed that it still left his symbol mostly exposed, "Along with it you choose a name that suits you for what you represent."

"For what I represent?" Daniel shook his head then squinted one eye at Love Heart ant twisted his mouth sideways.

Love Heart nodded, "An emotion or personality trait you think you represent, my girlfriend's name is Cassandra Avalon but she chose to call herself Confidence Heart Fennec once I gave her her chest symbol."

"I see…" Daniel folded his arms, "Can I think about it before you give me a fur tattoo at least?"

"Sure, in the meantime," Love Heart held up his hand and sparked up a small field of electricity in his hand, "what do you think?"

"Geeze what!?" Daniel jumped back as the blue lightning appeared in Love Heat's hands, "Is that your magic?"

"It's kinectics, and I can teach you how to use it." Love Heart stopped the flow of lightning and yawned, "But I'm tired. Can I sleep on the couch?"

Daniel stood up, "Nah, I'll show you to the guest room com'on," he motioned for Love Heart to follow him up the stairs.

OoOoO

Germaine smelled the hotdogs as soon as she approached Alex's house and spotted the fox in front of the barbecue as she cut across the grass and under the spruce tree to the front door. She felt her stomach growl as she opened the door, not even bothering to knock.

"Hey, Germaine, how goes?" Samantha was seated on the couch and she pointed to the edge where they had saved room for Alex and Germaine to sit.

Germaine smiled, "I'm fine, hungry though."

"Good timing then, just a few more minutes," Brandon checked his watch for what was probably the fifth time in the last three minutes.

Caleb watched Germaine as she took off her backpack and sat down on the couch, "If I may ask, Germaine: what does your foster family think about you living here?"

Germaine blushed, "Oh…well they said they're alright with it as long as it's what I want." Germaine smoothed down her long skirt, "No one's wanted to adopt me and they think it's good that I'll have a place to live when I'm legally an adult. On paper, I still live with them though and I have to go back once a month when the social services inspector comes around to make sure we're being looked after." She smiled, "I'm happy here."

"Happy enough to sleep together?" Samantha grinned.

Germaine blushed, "That, that's none of your business."

"I didn't hear a no," Samantha sat back, satisfied at her prodding.

Thankfully Alex was heard at the back door, "Food's ready!" he called, "Damn mosquitos," he added under his breath.

"Finally!" Brandon was up and in the kitchen immediately he grabbed two hotdogs and spread them with mustard and relish before he returned to the living room. Germaine was next and she shared a quick kiss with Alex before she took her own food.

"So how was stuff at school?" Alex took a seat next to Germaine and bit into his hotdog.

"Tiring, I don't want to relive it right now." Germaine all but inhaled her first hotdog and sighed contentedly, "Tasty."

Alex nodded and finished off his first hotdog, "I had a 'fun' encounter with Daniel downtown."

"What happened?" Germaine gave Alex a look of concern.

"That psycho tried to bash my head in with a branch! I was gonna fight him but this this green bear got between us and held us up with swords." Alex bit into his second hot dog and chewed rather aggressively.

"A green bear? You mean like us?" excitement rose in Germaine's voice.

Alex nodded and spoke with his mouth still full, "Yeah. Daniel calmed down but I bolted before he could say anything, I was in no mood." He swallowed and took another bite.

"Oh…well do you think we could meet him again?" Germaine's curiosity was piqued.

Alex saw Germaine's expression and swallowed and his mood mellowed, "We can try to find him tomorrow. I just needed to get home and away from the crazy noise in this bizarre town."

"That's alright," Germaine leaned up and gave Alex a kiss.

"Aww!" Brandon and Samantha cooed which made the fox and raccoon blush.

"Forget we were here?" Caleb chuckled as he finished off his meal, "Do you two want some time alone?"

"Yes, please…" Germaine averted her eyes from their three friends then crammed the second hotdog into her mouth and chewed it faster than she should have. She swallowed, felt it catch in her throat then ran to the kitchen to down a glass of water to help it pass through.

"I can see she's eager. I was going to sleep over at Caleb's tonight so we'll head out." Brandon took his second hotdog with him as he and Caleb left. Samantha crammed the second half of her hotdog into her mouth and took off after them.

"Wait up!" Samantha called to the two boys. Caleb and Brandon stopped to let her catch up, "Can I walk with you?"

"Sure? Want to come over?" Caleb offered.

Samantha rolled her eyes, "Wish I could but my parents would have a conniption fit if I stayed the night at a boy's house."

"Wanna talk about it?" Brandon offered as they started to walk again.

Samantha sighed, "Let' just say I did eight years hard time in 'private school' and had to threaten to tell social services about their corporal punishment to convince them to let me go to public high school, despite the 'horrors' that that meant. They still think Alex and Germaine are monsters here to corrupt me."

Caleb had to tread on eggshells with his next question, "Samantha, do your parents… hit you?"

Samantha shook her head and put her hands in her jean pockets, "They spanked me when I was a little kid, but that stopped years ago and my old teachers picked up the slack. These days they mostly just ask 'where did I go wrong?' or 'why do you hang out with those…things?' and worst 'can't you be more like your elder sister?'"

"You have a sister?" Brandon was taken aback.

"Oh yeah, never mentioned her. Mom and dad's perfect angel child who can do no wrong. Left for university a year before I started High School, only see her in the summer," Samantha groaned, "Can't wait to see her this year and see just how much she's excelling again, and how she making them proud _again_!" Samantha's teeth were grinding.

Brandon and Caleb weren't sure if they wanted to talk more or change the subject, thankfully they didn't have to as Samantha turned down the street to her house, "See you later," She wave backwards over her shoulder as she walked home.

OoOoO

With their friends gone, Alex locked the front door and gathered up the dishes to wash.

"Want to watch Star Wars?" Germaine pulled the DVD out of a drawer under the TV stand.

"Sure, just give me a minute." Five minutes later Alex had left the dishes to dry and sat down on the couch next to Germaine. Germaine smiled and leaned up against Alex as the film began.

At first they didn't talk and just got absorbed in the movie, then Germaine kissed Alex, Alex kissed back, then embraced and kissed deeper. They weren't paying attention to the movie but they had seen it a dozen times so it didn't matter too much. By the end of the movie, Alex was on his back. Only the ending credits jarred the apart long enough to shut off the TV and head for the bedroom.

Germaine winced as she took off her shirt and skirt then reached back to undo her bra. "Unf, tight," she muttered as she finally got the hooks undone.

"What's tight?" Alex had his shirt off and he looked over to Germaine with concern.

Germaine blushed as she dropped the undergarment. "I think I hit another growth spurt."

Alex blinked, then grinned and walked over to her, "Where? Here!" Alex reached up under her arms and groped her chest.

"Ah! Alex!" Germaine blushed but didn't protest, "Yes."

Alex kissed her, "They do feel bigger, I wonder how big you're gonna get."

Germaine shuddered and smiled, turning her head back to give Alex a kiss, "Dunno, but I need to get some new bras tomorrow. Will you come with me?"

"Of course." Alex nuzzled her shoulder and kissed her again. Germaine turned around and put her arms around him, pressing her chest up against his. Alex pulled her close and they kissed more deeply.

OoOoO

Love Heart was grateful for the fan and air conditioning unit in the guest room, he was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow. It was likely his lack of sleep on the flight over. It was just barely light out when Love Heart woke up. He stared groggily at the ceiling for a few minutes before he finally dragged himself out of bed.

Love Heart didn't even care that he was using the shower in a stranger's house, then again he wasn't really aware of his surroundings until he was dry and redressing into his clothes from the previous day. He grimaced slightly, "Gotta go shopping," he muttered. Now that he was finally awake he had to think about what to do. He had been asleep before anyone else could come home that night. He decided to throw caution to the wind and headed down to the kitchen.

It was quiet as Love Heart searched the kitchen where he found some cereal, milk, a bowl and a spoon. He didn't take a seat at the dining room table and opted to just stand in the kitchen as he ate. It didn't feel any more comfortable than it had the previous night.

As soon as he finished his bowl then someone came downstairs, an adult woman who wore a black business suit and high heels. "Daniel, sorry but I have to…" She paused upon seeing Love Heart.

Love Heart waved, "Hi, Daniel invited me over." He held his breath for a moment, ready to run if he had too.

"I see. I wish he'd told us. Just treat my son well, I have to get to work." The woman opened a cupboard and grabbed a breakfast bar before heading out the door. Love Heart watched her go then poured himself another bowl of cereal.

A few minutes later Love Heart heard more noise from upstairs and a man in a business suit came down the stairs. He didn't even stop to notice Love Heart, he just grabbed a travel mug and poured coffee from the automatic coffee maker into it before he headed out the door without a word.

Love Heart put the dishes in the dishwasher before he headed upstairs. He heard the shower running for a moment before the water shut off. A minute later he saw Daniel emerge from the same bathroom he had used with a towel wrapped around his middle. "Did you see my parents?" he asked as he headed for his room.

"Yeah they didn't say much though." Love Heart said.

"Well get used to that." Daniel shut his bedroom door and, five minute later, emerged in a blue t-shirt and black shorts. "So now what?"

"Well, before we do anything I need to get some new clothes, mine stink," Love Heart held a piece of his shirt up as he spoke, "Can you show me a good place?"

"Probably not, I'll just take you to the mall downtown, after I get breakfast," Daniel headed downstairs.

Half an hour later, Daniel and Love Heart were on a bus heading downtown.

"So how do I learn magic?" Daniel turned to Love Heart, who sat next to him.

"It takes a while, but first you need to learn how to create mana, the essence of magic, then you can shape it into your desired element, as for Care Bear magic," Love Heart folded his arms, "I'm not as good at that as dad but I'll do my best. I can give you a chest symbol when you're ready for it."

"Riiiiight," Daniel looked forwards, "So what happened with you down in the states?"

"I had a fight with two Care Bears named Shatter Heart and Blade Star. They were fighting another bear named Indy and I decided I had to run so they didn't track me back to my family. So I caught the red eye here," Love Heart sighed, "I didn't even have time to get any clothes just the money I have on hand and my bank card."

"Yeesh, that sucks. So can you tell me how I changed into this?" Daniel held out his furry grey arm and twisted it so he could show it off.

"I think the Great Wishing Star did it, to change normal animals into Care Bears. Except me, I was born this way," Love Hear touched his chest.

Daniel glared at him, "So that was the prick who did this. Until two years ago I was human."

"Wait what?" Love Heart turned and stared at Daniel, mouth agape, "You were human?"

"I was, then I heard this voice through my window and I changed into this. So tell me how does that work?" Daniel's voice had an edge to it, but Love Heart didn't seem to notice.

"That's… I mean this is completely new to me. I didn't think that was even possible," Love Heart shook his head to clear it and held his forehead.

"Great, that was a dead end," Daniel folded his arms and huffed. They stayed quiet until they got to the mall.

Love Heart was relieved when he finally got a ne set of clothes, and six more sets including underwear. "Now I just need to make sure I can pay for this." Love Heart hauled the armfuls of clothing to the front till. He winced slightly when he saw the cost on the screen, but sighed and was about to dig out his wallet when Daniel stepped in front of him.

"My treat, since you're going to teach me magic," Daniel muttered as he handed his bank card to the checker.

Love Heart smiled, "Thanks."

Despite himself, Daniel couldn't help but smile, "No problem."

Love Heart changed into one of his new sets of clothes and they headed for the food court. Love Heart wasn't too fond of the food choices, but he found a sub sandwich shop and ordered a mostly meat sandwich.

Daniel had some Chinese food with meat layered on top of noodles and they sat and ate in silence, until Daniel spotted two familiar people out of the corner of his eye. "Great, they're here."

Love Heart looked over his shoulder and spotted the red fox from the previous day along with a two tone blue raccoon, who was carrying a large shopping bag with the logo from a clothing store on it.

Daniel and Love Heart both wolfed down their food, but Love Heart was first and he stood up and took his shopping bag with him.

Daniel's eyes narrowed, "Are you going to talk to them?"

"I am. You should come too," Love Heart turned back to Daniel

Daniel huffed but stood up, "Fine!"

Love Heart heard the edge in Daniel's voice, "Don't start a fight. I need to talk to all of you."

Daniel was about to shoot back only to feel himself wilt under the harsh stare Love Heart gave him and he just nodded. Love Heart turned and led Daniel towards the fox and raccoon.

Alex and Germaine were about to start eating when they saw Daniel approaching with Love Heart.

Alex growled, "Let's go," he muttered as he pushed the chair away and stood up.

"No, wait. I want to talk to him," Germaine put a hand on Alex's hand, which stopped him.

Alex sighed, "OK, for you." He sat back down.

"Hello, my name is Love Heart Bear. I Don't remember your name. You are?" Love Heart looked at Alex.

"Alex Kitun."

"I'm Germaine Siedleman. It's nice to meet you," Germaine managed a smile.

"And I'm Daniel Masterson, great now we all know each other," Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Watch it, Daniel, I'm in no mood today," Alex growled, "So you hooked up with Daniel. What did he tell you about us?"

Love Heart's eye narrowed, "Nothing. Why are you two like this?" he looked back and forth between the three other animals.

"Just that he's been bullying us for years until he got changed into that!" Alex pointed at Daniel. His shouting was drawing attention, "And now he wants to take it out on me even though I never did anything to him."

"Like hell you didn't how else did I-"

"STOP!" Love Heart's shout silenced the whole food court. Germaine shrank back as Love Heart stood, his fur literally sparking as he continued, "My name is Love Heart Bear and I'm here to teach you about what you are and how to use magic." He held up his hand as the sparks subsided, "I want to teach you, all three of you, but I don't want to force you to do anything." Love Heart took a deep breath and held his hand out so it was between all of them. "If you're willing, I can help you, all of you."

For the first time ever, Alex, Germaine and Daniel all stared at each other in silence, and they were all thinking the same thing.

Germaine took his hand, "I can, if you explain things."

"I guess I'm in too," Alex took Love Heat's hand.

"I'm already deep in," Daniel added his hand.

"Good." Love Heart released their hands. "We can start today, if you're ready."


	17. Love Heart's Teaching Begins

Chapter 17: Love Heart's Teaching Begins

Alex and Germaine stared open-mouthed at the massive house. "This is where you live!?" Alex shot an accusing glare at Daniel, "Why the hell did you treat us like crap for so many years?!"

"Alex, that's enough!" Germaine pulled on his arm, then turned to face Daniel, "But really, you felt the need to be so cruel to us when you lived in this kind of luxury."

Daniel sighed, "I've been changed into a plush toy badger, I think I've been punished enough."

Alex bared his teeth, "After everything you did to us-"

"STOP IT!" Love Heart shouted and turned to face the three of them, "I don't know what's between you three but if I'm going to teach you then you need to stop being at each other's throats now!" He folded his arms, "Now I need you three to talk to each other and me and tell me just what the hell is going between the three of you." Love Heart's little tirade stunned the three into silence.

After a full minute, Germaine spoke, "Alex and I have known each other since first grade and when we all moved to a new school Daniel started bullying us for being different."

Daniel took a deep breath, "I was human at the time, two years ago I was turned into this badger and I blamed these two for it."

"And we've hated each other ever since," Alex folded his arms, "Is that enough?"

Love Heart sighed and put his hand to his forehead, "I'll have to work with it. I suppose I should ask: can we use your house for training Daniel?"

Daniel opened his mouth for a moment, then shut it, then finally spoke, "Yes, you can come over to train or practise or whatever you want, and Love Heart, you can stay here as long as you want."

Alex rounded on Daniel, "What the hell!? Why are you being nice to him?"

Daniel sighed, "Let's just say I've had a lot to think about. I'm sorry Alex, Germaine."

Alex just stared as Daniel walked up to the house and opened the door. "How…why…does he this makes it better?!"

Germaine put a hand on Alex's shoulder, "Maybe not, but I guess we have to try."

Alex grit his teeth and sighed through them, "Fine!" He and Germaine followed Love Heart into the house.

As they passed through the house, Alex caught up to Daniel and grabbed his shoulder, "Before I agree to work with you, can you just tell me what your problem is?"

Daniel bristled and turned around, pushing Alex's arm off his shoulder, "Do you really want to know? Well you had parents right?"

Alex's eye twitched and bared his teeth, "Yes, I had grandparents what's your point?"

"So do I," Daniel sighed then spread his arms, "see this big house, that giant TV, those game consoles? I have all of this because they both work so hard, but they work too much. Sometimes I think they just enjoy working hard for it's own sake."

Alex's expression softened, "You miss them?"

"Always, but what can I do? If they don't work I don't get all this stuff, or an allowance that lets me do whatever I want whenever I want," Daniel sighed.

"And your friends didn't help with this?" Alex's eyes narrowed.

Daniel grunted, "I don't have any friends, not anymore. I had two friends before the big school merge but they both moved away, one moved across town and the last time I saw him he had lost interest in everything we used to do together and the other's dad is in the RCMP so they move to a new city every couple years; I got a phone call from him last year but we didn't have a chance to meet up, not like he would have recognized me anyway," Daniel looked at his grey furred arm.

Germaine finally joined the conversation, "What did your parents say when they saw you were a badger?"

"Not much. I rarely actually see them anymore. Last month dad saw me and asked why I was a badger, so I told him that a voice from the sky changed me into one," Daniel rolled his eyes, "He told me that was fine as long as I was happy with it." Daniel turned away from the fox and raccoon, "the reason I acted the way I did was to force them to pay attention to me, to acknowledge that I had problems and do something about them, but the most they did was tell me not to do it again, they never even sounded disappointed."

"So why pick on us?" Germaine walked around to look him in the eyes.

Daniel averted his gaze from her, "I guess because I saw you as easy targets. Being a bully was just the only way I could make sure people knew I existed, even if they hated me."

Alex growled, "I still don't forgive you for all that shit you pulled."

"I'm not surprised, I wouldn't either." Daniel sighed, "I can't even remember their names."

"What?" Alex walked around to look Daniel in the face.

"My parents, I can't even remember their names. They're alive but they're just ghosts to me these days. Some days I forget they even exist until I run into one of them late at night on the weekends." Daniel pushed past Alex and headed into the backyard.

Alex just stared at Daniel as he exited the house, "That's messed up."

Love Heart stood in the back yard and faced Alex, Germaine and Daniel. "Alright, let's get started." Love Heart held up his hands and a shimmering blue cloud appeared in his open palms.

"Oh my!" Germaine leaned closer to get a better look at the substance.

"What is that?" Alex squinted and tilted his head to the side.

Love Heart stepped forwards so they could get a better look, "This is mana. Mom…" Love Heart stopped then took a deep breath, "It exists in every living thing and it's what we use for magic. You have to learn to create and control it for both kinetics and Care Bear magic." Love Heart held his hands forwards, "Touch it?"

"I…I don't know," Germaine shrank away from the mist.

"Is that stuff safe?" Anger Heart eyed the blue mist warily.

Daniel sighed and stuck his hand into the mana. "Oooh!" He jerked his hand back, "It feels like pins and needles."

"Like your hand fell asleep?" Germaine asked. Daniel just nodded.

"Well, OK." Alex reached forwards cautiously and stuck his hand into the mist, "yow!" he jerked his hand back, "That's not pins and needles! It's hot!"

Daniel glowered at Alex, "Hey, I swear it was pins and needles!"

"Like hell!" Alex looked like he was about to pounce on Daniel, and Daniel was readying himself for a fight, then Germaine stepped between them.

"Please, don't fight," she looked from Alex to Daniel then back to Love Heart, "Should it feel different."

Love Heart shrugged but kept the mist in his hands, "I don't know, I'm still new at this."

Alex rounded on Love Heart, "New at this?! You just started learning magic?!"

" _Teaching_ magic," Love Heart glared at Alex, "I showed Confidence Heart the same stuff but she was just learning the basics before I left. She hadn't even started learning her element yet."

"OK, I can do this," Germaine took a deep breath and reached into the blue field of mana. She shivered, "It feels damp." She pulled her hand out and wiped it on her shirt, only to realise it wasn't wet. She held up her hand in front of her face for a moment when a thought occurred to her, "Does how it feels help us find out element?"

"Huh?" Alex and Daniel both turned to her.

Germaine touched her chest, "It felt wet for me so maybe my element is water," she pointed to Alex, "Yours was hot so your element is probably fire," she pointed to Daniel, "If it felt tingly for you then your element might be lightning."

"Actually that would be air." Love Heart let the field of mana disappear, "Lightning is an aspect of air and cold is an aspect of water, you need to pick one to focus on when you start and you can learn others later."

"Too bad you're not earth, then we could summon Captain Planet," Alex snickered at Daniel.

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Right."

"Who's that?" Love Heart half-squinted his left eye towards Alex.

"Old kid's show I used to watch, trust me don't bother." Alex turned back to Love Heart, "So now what?"

Love Heart folded his arms and thought for a moment, "I can show you how to conjure mana or I you can choose your Care Bear names and I can give you your chest symbols."

"Chest symbols?" Daniel pointed at the hearts on Love Heart's chest, "You mean like that weird tattoo you have?"

Love Heart pulled his collar down farther to show his entire symbol to them. "Yes, this is my chest symbol. It's what we use to use our Care Bear magic, like this." Love Heart held his right hand up to his chest symbol as it glowed. One bright flash of light later and a longsword had appeared in his hand.

"Whoa!" Alex stared.

"What the?!" Daniel recoiled.

"Oh my," Germaine covered her mouth with her hands.

Love Heart swung the sword a couple times then held it up, "It's not just weapons, our symbols also let us use the Care Bear Stare."

"What does staring do?" Daniel cocked his head on the side.

"It's a weapon, here." Love Heart dissipated his sword, which startled Alex and Germaine, then turned to face sideways. He held up his hands and clenched his fists. His symbol glowed red, "Care Bear Stare!" a bright red beam of light fired off from his chest symbol and struck the fence nearby, which let off a shower of hearts and stars. Love Heart stopped and turned back to the other three.

"How did, I mean what was that?" Daniel was staring at Love Heart with his mouth hanging out.

"The Care Bear Stare is a weapon, at least I think it is. I've only used it twice, once to fight a strange golem and it caused the thing to get confused and explode then a second time to fight person that called himself No-Heart and it seemed to hurt him because he was evil," Love Heart scratched his head then folded his arms, "I'm not exactly sure how that works."

"How does it tell that someone is evil? Isn't evil a childish concept because people are just different?" Germaine raised her right hand with her palm upwards.

"I think good and evil do exist, just not as prominent as the world as the media would have us believe," Daniel folded his arms and looked at the ground, "But as much as it is immature to believe that the world is composed purely of black and white I think it's naïve to believe that the world consists entirely of shades of grey as well, there are people out there who are altruistic in ways we can't fathom and others whose self interest and lack of empathy make anyone sick. Both are rare but they do exist." Daniel looked up at Germaine.

"I guess," Germaine averted her eyes from Daniel then looked at Love Heart, "So how do we get our chest symbols?"

Love Heart touched his hand to his chest symbol, "I can give them to you, once you pick your Care Bear name."

Alex narrowed his eyes and raised his right hand with his index finger extended, "Why do we need another name?"

Love Heart looked down with his arms folded, "It's a representation of what you stand for. You're not giving up your old name but this name is going to help define who you are and what you feel is the most important thing to you." He looked up, "My girlfriend's name is Confidence Heart Fennec but she was born with the name Cassandra Avalon. I call her Confidence Heart but her brother still calls her Cassandra. It's up to you what you prefer to be called but it is important to what your symbol is going to look like."

"So we have to pick a name that represents us?" Daniel tilted his head to the side.

"Well," Love Heart spun his right hand, "One that represents what emotion or personality trait you think best embodies who you are."

Daniel snickered and jabbed a thumb towards Alex, "I guess he should be called 'Anger Heart Fox'."

"WHAT?!" Alex rounded furiously on Daniel.

Daniel just smirked as he turned to Alex, "You're just about the angriest person I know, with a fuse too short to measure."

Alex stepped forwards and grabbed Daniel's collar, "How about I start calling you 'Defiant Heart Badger' since you keep pushing everyone's buttons trying to show off that you can get away with anything?"

It was Daniel's turn to glare at Alex and bare his own teeth, "Defiant? And you're not helping you case, 'Anger Heart', and so what if I defy people all the time?"

"Enough, both of you!" Germaine had stepped between the two and forced Alex and Daniel apart, "Don't start fighting, we're here to learn something about ourselves and how to use magic." She looked from Daniel to Alex, "But I think those names suit both of you."

"WHAT?!" Alex and Daniel both shouted which forced Germaine to cover her ears for a moment.

Germaine uncovered her ears and continued, "Alex, you do have a short temper but anger isn't a bad thing: people need to be able to express their anger and let it out safely without letting it build until it overwhelms them." She turned her head to face Daniel, "And Daniel, I think it's good that you defy people's orders and expectations from time to time, it's better to try and change things every so often instead of just letting things stay stagnant the was they are."

Both the fox and the badger were silent for a moment.

"OK," Daniel put his hands in his pockets.

"Fine," Alex folded his arms.

Germaine smiled, "Good. Now what should my name be?" She looked from Daniel, to Love Heart then to Alex.

Love Heart folded his arms and quirked his head to the right, "Don't you want to pick your own name? Confidence Heart did."

Germaine shook her head, "No. From her name, Confidence Heart sounds like she knows what makes her who she is but I, and many people, are blind to both their greatest strengths and their lowest weaknesses," Germaine touched a hand to her chest, "I would like to know what all of you think is my greatest strength."

Love Heart gave her an inquiring look, "Sorry, Germaine, but I just met you."

Daniel smirked, "Well I think you're good at keeping people on track or at least from flying off the handle."

Alex growled, but sighed and put a hand on Germaine's shoulder, "He's right. Without you I don't think I could have held myself back as well as I could, especially not with him," Alex glared at Daniel.

Love Heart smirked, "Sounds like your greatest quality is your ability to guide people."

"Do you think so?" Germaine looked at each of the three, who each nodded in return, "Alright, then my name will be Guidance Heart Raccoon."

"Good," Love Heart clapped his hands, then paused. "I can't give you your tummy symbols through your clothes."

"Wait, so we're going to have to…strip?" Germaine blushed ferociously.

"Just your shirt," Daniel already had his t-shirt halfway off.

Alex took his hand from Germaine's shoulder and reached down to the hem of his shirt, "You don't have to." He pulled his shirt inside out and over his head.

"No…No I will." Germaine took a deep breath then carefully pulled her shirt off. As soon as it was off her left arm flew to cover her chest as she wasn't wearing a bra.

Love Heart didn't seem bothered but Daniel stared at Germaine. "Yeesh, why did you go commando today?" the badger asked.

Alex glared at Daniel, "That's none of your business!" He turned to Love Heart, "Get this over with before someone see this!"

Love Heart sighed then took a deep breath. His chest symbol lit up and a bright comet of white light flew towards the three. It spiraled around first Daniel, then Germaine and finally Alex and left a glowing light on their chests. A moment later the light faded and they could see their chest symbols.

Daniel's symbol was a pirate flag with crossed swords and a red heart instead of a skull, Germaine's was a red and gold heart shaped compass and Alex's was a red heart with a fire burning inside of it. Each of them touched their symbols as Love Heart smiled at them, "Welcome to the Care Bear Magi, Defiant Heart Badger, Guidance Heart Raccoon and Anger Heart Fox."

Guidance Heart already had her shirt halfway on by the time the glow from her symbol faded. Her face was still bright red when it emerged from the neck hole, "Am I going to have to do that again?"

"No, you can wear something low-cut like this," Love Heart tugged at the collar of his low cut t-shirt.

Guidance Heart somehow blushed even deeper, "But with where my symbol is, that means everyone will see…" she covered her face with her hands.

"So people will see your cleavage, so what?" Defiant Heart still had his shirt off. He prodded his chest symbol, "Wasn't expecting a pirate flag."

"Watch it!" Anger Heart growled at Defiant Heart.

"I don't see the big deal, I mean you can't see anything 'naughty' even when you're completely naked, unless you want them to. Believe me I checked," Defiant Heart shrugged.

"He's right," Love Heart tapped his foot on the ground and glared at the three. "But we still have to start-"

"That's not the point!" Guidance Heart's voice was high pitched and her breath was short, "It's…I mean…I don't like to expose myself to people."

"Except Alex," Defiant Heart smirked.

This time it was Anger Heart's turn to blush as he pulled his shirt on, "That's none of your business!" he averted his gaze from Defiant Heart.

"Enough!" Love Heart shouted which turned their attention back to him. "You can talk about your personal lives later, right now we need to start your magic lessons!"

Love Heart's commanding voice managed to dispel the embarrassment that was soaking into Anger Heart and Guidance Heart. Defiant Heart pulled his shirt back on as Love Heart continued.

"First you need to learn how to conjure mana, like I just did," Love Heart held out his hand, "Take my hand, I need to show you something."

Once all three of Love Heart's new students took hold of his hand, he sent a jolt of magic into them. All three of them felt the tingle travel up their arms and into the rest of their bodies, and a moment later they could all see bright blue lines criss-crossing the air surrounding them.

"These are aether strings. They are the conduits that carry magic around the world." Love Heart closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Can you feel that spark surrounding, the warm feeling? That is what mana feels like when it's not being influenced by your own magical potential."

Guidance Heart shuddered, "I feel it. Can you see these things all the time?"

"Only when I want to. Once you have a grasp of magic you can decide to hide them from your sight so they don't get distracting." Love Heart withdrew his hand from them and the field of aether strings vanished. "Your first task is to find that spark of magic deep inside of yourselves and bring it out. Remember what you just felt when I showed you the aether strings? Search for the feeling deep inside and try to bring it out." Love Heart held up his hands with his palms facing inwards, "bring it up and out through your hands until you can do this." Love Heart conjured a small field of blue mana again.

Anger Heart took a deep breath, "Alright, here goes." He closed his eyes and did his best to reach down and find that same feeling. Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart watched him for a moment, then followed suit. Love Heart watched them for a moment and smirked slightly as he saw Defiant Heart's strained face.

After five minutes, Defiant Heart and Guidance Heart stopped. "I can feel it, but it's so far out of reach," Guidance Heart slumped down to her knees.

"I feel like I'm constipated," Defiant Heart stretched then turned to Anger Heart, "Yeesh. Give it up, Alex, before you hurt yourself."

Anger Heart grunted then bared his teeth with his eyes still closed, "Almost, yeeeaaarg!" There was a sparkle between his hand then a shimmer as a faint field of blue mist appeared in his hands. Anger Heart opened his eyes and smiled, then lifted up his hand, "I…did…it…" he panted.

Love Heart stared at Anger Heart with his mouth hung open in shock, "What? But how? Even me and sister couldn't do it on our first tries."

Anger Heart's smile turned into a smug grin, "Heh…guess I'm just…that good." He started to feel light headed and his hands fell to his side. Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart raced over to catch him as he nearly fell backwards.

"Alex! Are you alright?" Guidance Heart helped him to stand.

Anger Heart took a deep breath, "I'm tired, why am I so tired?"

"Because you just used up some of your mana," Love Heart stepped forwards. "Mana is both the source of life and the fuel for magic and by bringing it out you used some of yours up."

"What?!" Anger Heart struggled to stand on his own, "Is this going to kill me?"

Love Heart offered a hand to Anger Heart, "No, your body won't let you drain enough to cause any permanent harm, and as you drain your magic it will build back up stronger than before."

"Like with exercise?" Guidance Heart asked.

Love Heart nodded, "Exactly."

Anger Heart panted, finally able to stand on his own, "Still exhausted, and hungry."

"I'll treat you to dinner, downtown then?" Defiant Heart motioned towards the door.

"Why are you being so nice today?" Anger Heart glared at Defiant Heart.

Defiant Heart sighed, "Let's just say I'm defying my past ad moving forwards, OK?"

"We're still not friends." Anger Heart accepted Guidance's help to stay upright.

"I wouldn't expect us to be this soon, but at least I can try," Defiant Heart headed out the door.

Alex sighed, "Fine, and maybe next time I'll make you something actually good to eat."


	18. I Wanna be a Care Bear

Chapter 18: I Wanna be a Care Bear

Samantha was wearing jeans and a t-shirt as she sat alone in the mall's food court idly sipping from a paper soda cup. She glanced around then set the cup down on her empty food tray. Brandon had invited Caleb to spend time with his cousins, who were visiting for the weekend, and Samantha didn't want to be anywhere near her house while her parents were ready to welcome her sister home. Why did university have to let out before school was finished? She sighed and tossed the now empty drink cup into an open trash can nearby. Bullseye.

"We can't practise every day. Exams are coming up."

Samantha looked up to the familiar voice and saw Germaine sitting with Alex and…was that Daniel? And who was the green bear? Samantha grabbed her tray and dropped it on top of the nearby garbage can before she headed over to the animals.

"Then I'll train you on weekends," Love Heart looked over at Defiant Heart and down to his pudgy stomach, "And you need to get in shape."

"What? I'm in good shape," Defiant Heart shoved a handful of fries into his mouth and took a long drink from his large cup of pop.

Anger Heart glowered at the badger, "The fat on your gut and in your hand says otherwise. Seriously when was the last time you ate something other than fast food?"

Defiant Heart swallowed and glared back at Anger Heart, "It was…I eat frozen pizza too."

Anger Heart rolled his eyes, "That's hardly an improvement."

"The bear has a point, you are getting pudgy," Samantha prodded Defiant Heart in the gut as she reached their table. "So who's your new friend?"

Defiant Heart shrunk back and growled, "Fuck off, Samantha!"

Guidance Heart swallowed part of her sub sandwich, "He's Love Heart Bear, he's a Care Bear and apparently so are we. Even though we aren't bears…"

"Care Bears?" Samantha surveyed the four sitting at the table, then grabbed a nearby chair and slid it over to their table. She grinned as she faced over the back of the chair a the four, "So Love Heart Bear? Who gave you that name?"

Love Heart blinked, "My parents. Who else would name me?" He tilted his head sideways at the newcomer.

Anger Heart pushed his half eaten fast food away in disgust, "He gave us all Care Bear names like that. I'm Anger Heart Fox, he's Defiant Heart Badger and Germaine," Anger Heart smiled and put his left arm around Guidance Heart.

"I'm Guidance Heart Raccoon," Guidance Heart smiled and turned to give Anger Heart a kiss.

"Aww!" Samantha cooed, "That's so cute." She turned to Love Heart, "Can you turn me into a Care Bear like Daniel."

Love Heart blinked, "What?"

"Can you turn me into a Care Bear," Samantha pointed at Defiant Heart, "He used to be human so can you do it to me?"

"Uhh, no. You'd have to ask him," Love Heart turned to Defiant Heart, "Refresh my memory, how did you transform."

Defiant Heart groaned then stood up, "Come with me!" He grabbed Samantha's arm in a surprisingly tight grip."

"Hey! Let go!" Samantha wrenched her arm away from Defiant Heart. "I just want to kno-"

"Why the hell do you want this!?" Defiant Heart's shout caused everyone in the food court to turn to face him. "I was forced into this and you want to give up what you have? What I want?!"

Samantha glared back, "Bite me! Just because you didn't want it doesn't mean I can't! Not everyone wants the same thing but I guess you can't understand that!" she turned and stormed away.

"What the hell, Daniel!" Anger Heart slammed his hands down on the table which nearly tipped it over.

"Blow it out your ass, Alex!" Defiant Heart stormed away.

Love Heart stood up and ran after Defiant Heart, "Wait! What's going on?" He grabbed Defiant Heart's shoulder. Defiant Heart wrenched out of his grip and continued to storm off. Love Heart looked back at Anger Heart and Guidance Heart, "Gotta go, see you later." Love Heart followed Defiant Heart out of the mall. Guidance Heart caught sight of Samantha and took off after her, which left Anger Heart to clean up the table.

Samantha had retreated into the entrance of the women's washroom. She pressed the heel of her right palm into her eyes to try and stop the tears the flowed out but it didn't stop and she softly sobbed to herself.

"Samantha, what's wrong?"

Samantha felt a furry hand touch her arm and she looked up to see Guidance Heart next to her, her eyes full of worry.

Samantha dried her eyes with the back of her arm and took a deep breath to steady her voice, "It's just, what Daniel said got me thinking, about why I asked that and what he asked me."

"You mean, why you want to be like us?" Guidance Heart asked and Samantha nodded, "Well why do you?"

"Because…because I want to be like an animal like you. I've been a fan of furries since I was a kid and I always wondered what it would be like to be like you." Samantha took Guidance Heart's hand and lifted it up to rub against her cheek, "What's it like to have fur? What it like to have a tail or a strong sense of smell? I want to know."

Guidance Heart carefully extracted her hand from her friend's grip, "I can't really say, I mean I've had fur and a tail all my life so I barely notice, except when I need to dry off. I guess the tail is just an extra limb I can feel and use every now and then. I guess Defiant Heart would have a better idea…" Guidance Heart averted her gaze from Samantha for a moment then looked back up at her. "There's more isn't there."

Samantha blinked then stared back at the blue raccoon, "How did you know?"

"I can see it in your eyes, you have something else you want to say about your reasons, don't you?" Guidance Heart smiled, "You can tell me."

Samantha sighed and slumped against the wall, only the thought of what might be on the floor stopped her from sliding down to the ground. "It's my family, they hate you guys."

Guidance Heart was taken aback, "Hate us? Wait all of us?"

Samantha shook her head, "Just you and Alex, they refer to you as 'things that never should have existed'. Then there's everything they put me through until high school, I was in private school for eight years before I threatened them to let me go to public high school by telling them I'd report their 'disciplinary actions' to social services. Now every day they ask 'where did we go wrong' or say 'why can't you be more like your elder sister' as if I want to be an empty husk like her." Samantha sighed again, "I guess…I think that if I could become like you, if I could become a Care Bear, then I could escape my crappy life and be something better."

Guidance Heart turned to leaned up against the wall next to Samantha, "Becoming a Care Bear won't solve all your problems, in fact it might create more, like with Daniel."

"I know, but I still feel the same way, I want to be a Care Bear." Samantha finally stood up and away from the wall.

Guidance Heart went with her, "I won't stop you, but I don't know how you can do that, sorry."

Samantha put a hand on Guidance's shoulder, "That's alright, thanks for listening, Guidance Heart."

Guidance Heart shuddered, "It sounds weird when you use my Care Bear name."

"Want me to stop?" Samantha removed her hand from the raccoon's shoulder.

Guidance Heart shook her head as they exited the washroom, "No, it's fine. I just have to get used to it."

Anger Heart was taking a drink from the water fountain when Samantha and Guidance Heart exited. "Feel better?" Anger Heart stood up.

"A bit. Were you listening, Anger Heart?" Samantha shot him a coy expression.

Anger Heart looked away his face turning redder either from embarrassment, anger or both, "No! I wasn't trying to at least, I just overheard a bit."

Guidance Heart took his arm, "It's fine, Anger Heart."

Samantha put her arms behind her head as they headed for the exit, "So what do you think about this?"

Anger Heart gave her a quizzical look, "Think about what?"

"Me wanting to be a Care Bear?" Samantha got ahead of them and turned, walking backwards but keeping pace with them.

Anger Heart had to think for a moment as they walked through the automatic doors to exit the mall, "I honestly don't know, but I'm not gonna stop you if find some way to do it."

Samantha grinned, "Thanks, maybe some day soon you'll see me wearing fur too." She turned forwards when they got to the bus stop, "See you later."

OoOoO

"Hey!" Love Heart shouted as he caught up to Defiant Heart at the other bus stop, "What the hell was that about?"

Defiant Heart glared sideways at Love Heart, "Just…ugg…I couldn't handle the way that girl was talking about wanting to be like this." Defiant Heart held his hands up in front of his face then clenched them into fists.

Love Heart stared at Defiant Heart in disbelief, "Do you hate being a Care Bear that much?"

Defiant Heart groaned and dropped his face into his hands, "I don't know! I mean nothing's really changed for me: I still have no friends, my parents still have no time for me and I'm gaining weight," he sighed and prodded his pudgy stomach. "I'm wasting my second lease on life…"

"I'm sorry, what?" Love Heart walk around to Defiant Heart's front.

Defiant Heart averted his gaze but kept talking, "Before I transformed my doctor said I was about to get diabetes but after I became this all my symptoms vanished and I lost a lot of weight that I'd put on. So much for second chances…"

Love Heart carefully turned Defiant's head to face him, "It's not too late, you can still fix this."

Defiant Heart pushed Love Heart's hand away, "How?"

"Get in shape. I saw a gym back in the mall, want to go?" Love Heart pointed back to the mall right as the bus pulled up.

Defiant Heart turned to the bus for a moment, then looked back at the mall, then sighed, "Alright, might as well try. Let's go." He and Love Heart headed back to the gym.

OoOoO

Samantha sighed in relief as she unlocked the front door of her house, at least she was alone here. The good feelings didn't last long as by the time she had her shoes off she heard a car pull up and she groaned. She was halfway to the stairs up when she heard the front door open. She swore she could feel the rush of wind as her sister crossed the floor in an instant in a crushing hug from behind.

"Baby sister, it's so good to see you again!"

"Yeah, real nice, Emily," Samantha grunted uncomfortably at the young woman's large chest that was pressed into her back. Samantha resisted the urge to force her off.

"I can't wait to tell you everything I leaned at University, oh and help you study for your exams. Mom and dad told me your grades are slipping," Emily turned her younger sister around and gave her a beautiful sparkling smile.

It was enough to make Samantha want to hurl. Her hands clenched into fists at her side as she spoke through gritted teeth, "I'm only down to Bs and one C+."

"But that's not enough if you want the right career, baby sister, come now I have to show you the clothes I made for you last week," Emily managed to guide Samantha towards the entrance and the younger girl blanched when she saw a frilly pink and white dress that her mother was holding.

The woman gave her daughter a slightly disapproving look, "I think this would be lovely for you to wear to church tomorrow, then you can wear it for a dare we set you up with for the son of a lovely African American couple we met last week. You need to stop hanging out with those things that shouldn't exist."

Samantha could feel the steam coming out of her ears as she bared her teeth, "I'm not going on a blind date you set up for me. And they are my friends!"

"Now baby sister, mom and dad did a lot of work to find someone who would go out with you, the least you can do is try for them." Emily put her hands on her little sister's shoulders.

Samantha couldn't help but growl, "It's none of their business!"

"Watch your tone, young lady," her father glared at his youngest daughter, "This is the best way we can help you get back on the right path."

"That's my choice not yours!" Samantha stomped her foot on the ground, which made some of the furniture shake.

The girls' mother had to raise her voice, "That's enough, why can't you be more like your sister? She's dating a nice church boy from University, he's coming over tomorrow night to meet us."

"Can't you she's dead inside!" Samantha stepped forwards and pointed back at Emily.

"I'm not dead, I'm just fine, baby sister," Emily still had her sparkling smile on her face.

"One more word and you're grounded, Samantha," Her father's voice became harsher, "I don't understand where we went wrong with you."

"Trying to control my life!" Samantha tore away from Emily and out the front door, "Her boyfriend can have my room!" she shouted as she tore down the street, hot tears streaming down her face.

OoOoO

Guidance Heart pulled at the cups of her new bra and felt its snugness against her chest, "Feels good. How does it look?"

Anger Heart couldn't help but smile, "Looks as good as it feels. Is that all your going to wear for the rest of the night?"

Guidance Heart giggled and dropped down on the couch next to Anger Heart, "Maybe, it let's me see my new chest symbol," she prodded her exposed cleavage where the heart shaped compass symbol was, "It's part of the fur too, weird…"

Anger Heart leaned forwards so he could pull off his shirt. He poked at the heart with a fire inside of it, "So what can we do with these things?"

Guidance Heart shrugged, "I suppose Love Heart will tell us…eventually."

Anger Heart looked up at Guidance Heart, "Having doubts?"

Germaine shuffled in place, "A bit…mostly just nervous. You?"

Anger Heart was about to reply when a knock at the front door startled both of them and Guidance Heart ran to pull her shirt back on while Anger Heart answered. He was surprised to see Samantha on the front step in the fading light. "Samantha…are you crying?"

Samantha rubbed her eyes, "Can I spend the night, please?"

Anger Heart sighed, "Alright." He turned and walked back into the house, followed by Samantha after she shut the front door. Guidance Heart had just pulled her shirt back on when Samantha sat down on the couch.

"Samantha? What brings you here?" Guidance Heart sat down on the opposite side of Samantha.

"Family trouble, my sister came home today…" Samantha leaned back on the couch.

Anger Heart and Guidance Heart exchanged a look. The previous summer, Samantha had spent a lot of her time complaining about her elder sister so they were very familiar with her grievances towards her older sibling.

Guidance Heart put a hand on Samantha's shoulder, "But what made you run all the way here?"

Samantha sighed, "Mom and dad tried to set me up on a date with someone from their church, and they pulled out their usual lines."

Guidance Heart winced, "That sounds pretty bad."

"It was, but I just couldn't put up with it anymore, constant comparisons and judging and just…I'm sick of it all…" Samantha leaned forwards and brought her knees up to her chest.

"I already said you could spend the night," Anger Heart stood up, "I'm gonna heat up some leftovers. Homemade pizza sound alright?"

Samantha managed a smile, "Sounds good." She craned her head forwards to spot the symbol on Anger Heart's chest before he disappeared behind the fridge door, "Alex, when did you get a tattoo?"

"It's my chest symbol, it's a Care Bear thing," Anger Heart brought out the plate of cold pizza from the fridge.

"So do you have one too?" Samantha turned to Guidance Heart.

Guidance Heart blushed slightly, "Yes but it's… well I need to take off my shirt to show you."

"May I see it?" Samantha smirked.

"Don't push her, she had to strip in front of Defiant Heart and Love Heart to get it today." Anger Heart set the plate down on the coffee table and grabbed a slice.

"Anger Heart…" Guidance blushed harder.

Anger Heart coughed, "Sorry…"

"It's fine…I just…I'm hungry," Guidance Heart changed the subject.

"So how does it show through the fur?" Samantha peered closer to Anger Heart's chest symbol.

Anger Heart swallowed his mouth full pizza, "It's a fur pattern too, it can do stuff but we just don't know how yet."

Samantha lowered her legs and took a square of pizza, her interest was piqued, "What kind of stuff."

Germaine chewed as she thought for a moment then swallowed, "We don't know what our symbols can do yet, but Love Heart is teaching us magic."

"Really?!" Samantha almost shoved her face into Guidance Heart's, "What did out learn? Can you teach me?"

"Whoa, settle down!" Anger Heart pulled her back, "We just started learning today and I barely have the first lesson down." Once Samantha had calmed down, Anger Heart sat back against the couch again, "If you want to learn, then you should ask him."

Samantha sighed and chewed slowly on her pizza, "I can't. If mom and dad found out, I'd be out of the house… I wanna be a Care Bear."

"What? Didn't you say that back at the mall?" Guidance Heart asked.

Samantha nodded, "And I mean it, I want to be a Care Bear like you, maybe not the same animal but I definitely want to be like you, and I'm going to find a way!" Samantha pumped one of her fists then devoured her slice of pizza.

Guidance Heart just stared at her, "That's quite the tenacity you have, Samantha."

OoOoO

Defiant Heart hadn't been sure just how much he could sweat in his new form, and now he knew and it was definitely worse with fur. He stepped off the elliptical machine after spending 20 minutes going non-stop and fell forwards, hands on his knees. He looked up and saw that Love Heart was still going on the treadmill. The green bear was sweating as well but he didn't seem anywhere as tired as he felt.

"Just a three-day trial," he muttered to himself, "Then it should get easier." He grabbed some paper powers from a dispenser and mopped the sweat from his face which only matted his fur down a bit but at least helped clear away some of the moisture.

Love Heart finally dismounted the treadmill five minutes later. He panted slightly but wasn't nearly out of breath. "That was invigorating, ready to try a weight machine?"

Defiant Heart had just returned from getting a drink from a water fountain, "Alright, the sooner we get this over with the better."

Love Heart found a bench press, "You need to get in shape so I expect you to come here whenever you get a chance. You can't be a good fighter if you're out of shape."

Defiant Heart sighed and lay down on the bench press as Love Heart set the weight, "Alright. I still don't have to like this."

OoOoO

Samantha lay on the hide-a-bed in Anger Heart's living room and stared up at the ceiling. She was only wearing her undergarments and lying under a thin sheet in the early summer heat. The window behind her was uncovered and that let her lean her head back to look out up at the stars. She focused on a twinkling star in the sky then closed her eyes.

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight.

Wish I may, wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight."

Samantha took a deep breath as she spoke her wish, "I wish I was a Care Bear."

"Do you truly?"

Samantha sat bolt upright, "What?"

"If that is your wish then I can grant it but you must be sure and I do not wish it to be a big a shock to you as it was to Defiant Heart Badger."

The voice seemed to be inside Samantha's head but her gaze was drawn to a beam of light that streamed in through the window. "What do you mean?"

"Take this," the light formed into a pale blue heart-shaped crystal the size of her fist and Samantha reached out to catch it in both her hands. "This heart crystal can allow you to take the form of a Care Bear when you will it, but be warned: the process is irreversible and if you have any doubt in your mind then you should smash the crystal on the ground. This is the only time I can offer this to you so be sure before you decide."

"Only one chance," Samantha held up the crystal only for it to slip from her hands and fall to the floor. She gasped and tried to grab it only to miss as it hit the floor and bounced a couple times.

The voice spoke again, "It can only be broken by choice and only by you. If it drops by accident or someone else tries to break it then it will survive and if you lose it then it will find its way back to you. Keep it with you and think about what makes you who you are and keep it close and it will absorb how you feel and shape who you will become. Again, this is irreversible and your only chance so think carefully before you decide."

The voice faded and Samantha was left holding the pale blue crystal. She set it on the side table then lay back. Trying to sleep almost felt futile but eventually sleep claimed her.


	19. Rebirth

Chapter 19: Rebirth

Samantha was awakened by the sound of the shower. She stirred and covered her eyes from the light of day that flowed in through the window over her head. She mumbled incoherently and rolled over, then she spotted the crystal.

"It wasn't a dream?" She reached out for the crystal and touched it, was it blue or green? Didn't matter. She held the crystal to her chest and stared at the ceiling, did she really want to go through with this?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a banging at the front door. "Samantha! Are you in there?"

Samantha recognized her father's voice and scrambled to grab her clothes while keeping low. Thankfully the curtains of the window next to the door were closed and the window at the top of the door was too high off the ground to be seen through just by standing. Regardless she stuffed the crystal into her pants pocket and ducked into the small corridor next to the bathroom out of sight of the windows just in time. Her father's face appeared in the half-sun window at the top of the door right after Samantha vanished around the corner.

Samantha panted. Her heart was hammering as she heard her father banging on the door again. She didn't even notice when the shower shut off or when Guidance Heart emerged, that is until the raccoon let out an "Eep!"

Samantha turned to see Guidance Heart covering herself with her arms, her fur was still damp but she was otherwise unclothed. "Samantha, I forgot you were here."

Samantha smirked, "Don't be so nervous, Guidance, you know me. Besides I can't see anything."

Guidance hesitated then slowly withdrew her hands, though her face turned red. "Alright." More banging on the door drew her attention, "What's that?"

Before Samantha could answer Anger Heart emerged out of the still open bedroom door, "Who the fuck is here this early in the goddamn morning!"

"I'm gonna take a shower, see ya," Samantha darted into the bathroom as Alex stomped towards the front door.

Alex unlocked the door and threw it open to see an older man dressed in a nice suit standing in front of him. "What the hell do you want?!"

"Mind your manners when you speak to your elders and cover your…" the man looked down, "What kind of monster are you if you don't have-"

Anger Heart gripped the door frame and bared his teeth, "None of your damn business! What the fuck the do you want?!"

"Simple: give me my daughter and I'll leave." The man folded his arms, "And get dressed before everyone sees you."

"I'll get dressed when I damn well want and I have no fucking clue who your daughter is or where she is, other than not here. Now get the fuck out of here before I call the police!" Before the man could answer, Anger Heart slammed the door and locked it behind him. He leaned up against the door and held his head as he felt the man pounding on the door behind him. He looked up when Guidance Heart approached and could hear, barely, the shower running over the man's shouts.

"Is he going to leave?" Guidance Heart looked up and shrank back when the man's angry face appeared in the door's window.

"He'd better, I wasn't bluffing." Anger Heart tapped his foot.

Eventually the man gave up and the pounding stopped. A moment later they heard, and saw, a car drive down and off their street. Anger Heart sighed in relief and frustration, "So much for sleeping in. Guess I'll make breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns sound good?"

Guidance Heart smiled, "Perfect. Here I'll help."

Samantha stayed in the shower longer than she needed to, just to make sure her father was gone. She felt the heart shaped crystal in her pocket once she got dressed and was about to pull it out but then she pushed it back down. Better keep this to herself for now. Her clothing stank somewhat but that smell was forgotten when she exited the bathroom and caught a whiff of breakfast.

"Smells good, may I?" Samantha asked as she passed through the living room, where the dining table was.

"Go ahead," Anger Heart pointed to the kitchen, his mouth half-full of food.

Samantha returned to the table a minute later, her plate full of the rest of the food that had been left for her. She didn't say anything as she dug in.

Guidance Heart was the first to finish and she set her fork and knife down then turned to Samantha, "Samantha, did you know that man at the door?"

Samantha winced slightly but finished chewing and swallowed before she answered, "That was my dad."

Anger Heart nearly choked as he was swallowing and hastily downed a glass of water, pounding his chest to get the food to pass through, "What?!" his voice was slightly hoarse.

"Yeah, that was my dad. Probably here to drag me off to church." Samantha went back to her food.

"But I told him I didn't know who his daughter was! Urgggh!" Anger Heart ground his hand into his forehead. "How did he even find where we live?"

"You didn't know she was his father so you didn't really know, and it's not like we blend in, everyone knows where our house is." Guidance Heart put a hand on Alex's shoulder.

Samantha grinned, "So you two are fully shacked up now?"

Guidance Heart blushed, "That's not the issue here. Why did you hide from him?"

Samantha sighed, "Because I'm sick of the way they try to run my life. They set me up on a date with someone from church and told me I had no choice. Just a couple more weeks and this will end," she leaned back into her meal.

"Huh?" Anger Heart stared at Samantha, who seemed to ignore. He sighed and turned back to his breakfast.

"Are we going to Defiant Heart's again today?" Guidance Heart asked.

"Mmhmm," Anger Heart nodded, his mouth full of food.

Samantha finally finished her breakfast, "Can I come too?"

Guidance Heart looked at her somewhat hesitantly, "I don't know, I mean this is magic training for us and… well…"

"Let her come," Anger Heart finished then took their plates to the kitchen.

Samantha grinned, "Thanks, Anger Heart."

The fox shuddered slightly, "Yeah, it is weird to hear you call us that."

Samantha became jumpy as soon as they left the house and she repeatedly checked over her shoulder right up until they got on the bus, though she was still tense until they transferred downtown. Anger Heart and Guidance Heart gave each other nervous glances as Samantha relaxed but kept quiet for the duration of the trip.

Samantha was bouncing on her feet as she approached Defiant Heart's house; though she had stared she kept quiet about the size of the place. The door was answered by Love Heart, who was startled to see her standing there.

"Umm, hello Samantha, why are you here?"

"I want to learn magic," Samantha stepped forwards and raised a hand clenched into a fist.

Love Heart just stared at her for a moment then sighed, "I can try but I can't promise that you'll be able to learn anything, I don't even know if humans can even learn magic."

"Great! Let's go!" Samantha pushed past the three Care Bears and nearly ran into Defiant Heart Badger, who just glared at her as she ran past.

"Alright. Anger Heart you can practise conjuring mana while I go over the basics again with these three," Love Heart pointed to the fox before he faced the other three, "Alright, Defiant, Guidance you two keep trying to conjure mana, and Samantha," Love Heart held up his hands and conjured a blue field of mana again, "This is mana."

Samantha seemed hesitant to approach, "What is that stuff?"

Love Heart took a deep breath, "It's the source and fuel for magic and life. Just touch it and you'll see what it feels like."

Despite her pervious enthusiasm, Samantha hesitated with her hand hovering a couple centimeters from the blue field in Love Heart's hands. Guidance Heart stepped forwards, "It's not dangerous, here see." She extended her blue furred hand into the field then shuddered, "Ooo! It's warm!"

"What?" Love Heart gave Guidance Heart a funny look, "wasn't it damp yesterday?"

Guidance Heart withdrew her hand and stuck it back into the field, "It's warm, not hot."

"Odd," Love Heart looked over at Samantha, "Ready to try?"

Samantha nodded, "Alright," she carefully stuck her hand into the field then shivered, "It's cold! And it feels funny."

"Well I guess cold is your element then, which means water," Love Heart let the field dissipate, "Now do what I say and try to find that same funny feeling deep inside you and bring it out, like Anger Heart is doing." Love Heart pointed to where Anger Heart had conjured his own smaller field of blue mana. Anger Heart panted but kept the field shimmering in his hand.

Samantha looked from Anger Heart back to Love Heart, mouth agape, "Didn't he just start yesterday?"

Love Heart nodded and folded his arms, "He did but don't feel bad he's a natural. Just take it at your own pace."

Samantha took a deep breath then held her hands out and tried to feel the energy inside of herself. Defiant Heart glared over at her and rolled her eyes and grit his teeth, trying to bring out his own mana field.

By the end of the session Anger Heart was resting and chugging a huge bottle of water he'd grabbed from Defiant's fridge but none of the other three had made any headway with conjuring any mana.

"Ugg, I feel like I'm constipated whenever I try this," Defiant slumped down on the grass. Guidance Heart shuddered but didn't comment.

"Right, I think that's enough magic practise for today, now for chest symbol training," Love Heart turned to Samantha, "Sorry but you can't really do this part."

Samantha pouted then sighed, "Alright." She turned and was about to leave, when she stuck her hands on her pockets and felt the crystal again. She turned her head back, "Love Heart, can I talk to you in private?"

Love Heart turned from the other three Care Bears, "OK, just wait inside until I'm done giving them their instructions."

Samantha rummaged through Defiant Heart's fridge as she waited for Love Heart. It was mostly barren save for several snack foods, bottled water and some milk. She checked to make sure the milk wasn't expired, then gave a sigh of relief when she saw it was still good.

She was still drinking when Love Heart stepped inside. "Alright what do you want to talk about?"

Samantha finished her drink then looked out the window to make sure no one was listening in. Seeing the other three struggling with their current exercise, and all with their shirts off, she fished the crystal out of her pocket, "This."

Love Heart stared at the heart-shaped crystal. It was orange, no, yellow, green, blue. The crystal slowly shifted through the rainbow pattern of colors as Samantha held it forwards. "What is that?" Love Heart asked as he reached forwards carefully to touch it. It felt warm.

"Last night I made a wish on a star and it spoke to me. I said I wanted to be a Care Bear and it told me that I could with this, once I was sure it was what I wanted."

Love Heart started and stepped back, "I'm sorry, what? You want to be a Care Bear? Why?"

Samantha withdrew the crystal and held it close to her chest, "Because my family sucks and I'm sick of being controlled by them. I just want to make my own life without being dragged back to them, but…" She lowered her hands, "I don't know if I can really do this. It's permanent once I make up my mind and… I mean what if I'm not a good Care Bear, what if I can't hack it…"

Love Heart looked into her quivering eyes, "Why are you telling me this? Do your friends know?"

Samantha shook her head and pocketed the crystal again, "No they don't, and I'm telling you because you don't know my parents and you won't risk telling them. If they found out… I don't know what they would do to me."

Love Heart sighed the folded his arms, "Want me to talk to your parents."

"NO!" Samantha's eyes went wide and she held up her hands defensively, "If they found out about you and about the magic you're teaching they could come down on both of us like a sledgehammer! Just stay here and do your thing and if I choose to be a Care Bear then I want you to train me too."

Love Heart sighed again then tried a smiled, "Alright, if you do that then I will, but you said it's irreversible so think before you decide."

"I will. I should get going though, there's going to be hell to pay at home." Samantha turned and left, which left Love Heart to return to the training out back.

By the end of the chest symbol training, Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart had managed to get their symbols glowing (Guidance's being the brightest) and they were all tired.

Anger Heart was about to speak up when he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket, he fished it out and read the text, "Hey, Caleb invited us to see 'Meet the Robinsons' in a bit, anyone want to go?"

Guidance smiled, "I'd love to."

Love Heart raised a hand, "I'll pass, have fun"

OoOoO

Samantha didn't want to go home. She didn't want to go home as she walked to the bus stop. She didn't want to go home as she rode the bus. She didn't want to go home as she transferred downtown. She especially didn't want to go home as she turned onto the street that led to her house.

Her dread was partially replaced by confusion when she saw Caleb standing at her front door, wearing what she assumed were his church clothes. He smiled as she approached, "Hey, Samantha."

Samantha stopped on the bottom step, "Hi, Caleb, why are you here?" She had a guess but hoped she was wrong.

"I'm your date today, just a sec." Caleb turned and opened the door just enough to get his head in, "Your daughter's home."

"Good, can you send her in?" It was her father's voice.

"Sorry, but the movie's going to start in 20 minutes and we have to get there right away."

She heard her father sigh, "Fine, but I will talk to you tonight Samantha!"

Caleb shut the door, "Alright let's go," he pointed to a small car parked out front.

"Are your parents here?" Samantha tried to peer into the car.

Caleb shook his head, "Nope, I got my license last month but they let me borrow their car for today." He opened the passenger door for her before he got in the driver's seat.

Samantha sat with her arms folded as the car pulled onto the main street, "How serious are you about this date?"

Caleb shrugged but kept his eyes forwards, "Not very. My parents know how… strict yours are so they asked me if I could take you out to get them off your back," he smiled, "relax I have more planned."

Samantha was about to ask what he meant when they came to a sudden jolting stop as a kid darted across the street. After that her heart was hammering too fast for her to want to ask any questions.

Thankfully her answer came when they got to the theater and she lit up as she saw Brandon, Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart standing at the entrance. Samantha grinned a she hopped out of the car, not waiting for Caleb to open the door. Caleb didn't seem to mind as he shed the jacket from his church clothes.

"I thought it would be nice if we just had some time out with friends," Caleb glared at the badger, "I didn't invite him though."

Defiant Heart snorted, "I'm here to see the same movie on my own."

Caleb rolled his eyes, "I'm not paying for your ticket."

"I can pay my own way, thank you!" Defiant shot back.

"Let's not start a fight, OK?" Brandon said, "The movie starts in five, let's go."

As they all filed in and paid for their tickets, Brandon asked, "So are we ever going to meet Love Heart Bear?"

"I guess that's up to him," Guidance Heart took her ticket from the cashier.

"So where did he go?" Samantha asked.

OoOoO

Love Heart let the weights on the seated row weight machine finally come to a rest and leaned forwards against the front pad of the chair. He was sweating but it wasn't as unbearable as he once found it. He heard someone whistle as they walked past and caught a glimpse of Love Heart's weights, set to 235 pounds. Love Heart stood up and grabbed some paper towels from the nearby dispenser to wipe the sweat off his head and the machine, funny how there was no green fur on it. He shrugged this off and moved on to the next exercise on the little chart he'd filled out the previous day.

Love Heart was in the gym for another hour before he finally called it a day, showered then headed out. He decided to just walk the distance back to Defiant's house, it was an hour long walk but he needed some time alone to think. In only three days he'd not only met three new Care Bears one of whom used to be human, but a human who wanted to be a Care Bear herself and apparently was given the chance by the Great Wishing Star. Love Heart shook his head, unsure how to process all of this information and his mind drifted to his family, still waiting back in the states. Were they safe? Had those two, Shatter Heart and Blade Star gone after them or were they after him still? Was this city safe with him here? All these questions swirled around in Love Heart's mind until his head hurt and he stopped to sit on a public bench to clear his head.

As he sat there his mind drifted to something Confidence had said to him a couple months ago: about how she chose air as her element because it would let her fly. Maybe it wasn't just his new friends who needed to train.

Love Heart stood up then looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. "OK focus, Love Heart, guide the wind around your body and let it lift you." As Love Heart spoke to himself the wind whirled around and down his body and flowed under his feet. A few bystanders stopped to watch as the air pushed itself under Love Heart's feet. Love Heart felt his feet slowly lift from the ground and opened his eyes to see that his feet were half-a-centimeter off the ground. Love Heart exhaled and let his feet touch the ground. Love Heart smiled, "OK, just gotta keep trying."

Every few blocks Love Heart stopped to try again, getting a little higher off the ground each time. Ten blocks away Love Heart didn't stop as he pushed the wind under his feet and floated half a meter forwards before he nearly tipped over in mid air and stumbled as he touched down. He grinned and picked up his pace, speed walking down the sidewalk as he tried again this time flying a full meter before he landed, a bit more gracefully than before. He grinned more brightly and sped up.

Down the street Love Heart was soaring larger and larger flights until he finally cleared a whole street and landed in front of Defiant Heart house. Love Heart sighed and smiled, "Just gotta keep trying." He reached into his pocket and fished out the key Defiant Heart had given him. As he opened the door he heard a car pull in the driveway. Turning he saw Defiant's mother step out of the car. They both stared at each other for a moment.

"You're a friend of my son, right?"

Love Heart nodded, "I am. He went to a movie."

"Oh, well that's good." She walked right past to Love Heart spoke.

"Can we talk about your son?"

OoOoO

"Thanks for this, Caleb, and all of you," Samantha took a deep drink from what was left of her pop from the theater. "I needed this."

Caleb smiled, "No problem, I just hope things go well when you get home."

Samantha sighed, "No chance of that, I'm gonna catch hell from them. Probably literally at this point."

"Don't worry, we'll be here for you," Guidance Heart put a hand on Samantha's shoulder.

Samantha smiled, "Thanks but I don't know if it will do any good." She looked over to where Defiant Heart sat, separate from the rest of them. "Excuse me." Samantha passed the trash can on the way to Defiant Heart and dropped her now empty cup inside it, "Mind if I sit here?"

"Kind of do, actually," Defiant Heart was stirring the soup cup he'd bought.

"Yeesh, sorry. Why don't you join us?" She leaned one hand on the table.

Defiant Heart sighed, "Because it's weird at the very best, I tormented you guys for years."

"Just Anger Heart and Guidance Heart actually."

"Doesn't matter, it's going to be a while before anything changes so for now I'm just going to do my own thing." Defiant got up and moved to another table farther away. Samantha sighed and returned to her friends.

"No luck with him I see," Brandon said.

"Then screw him, if he doesn't want to join us outside of training then leave him," Anger Heart stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and folded his arms and silently fumed.

Samantha shrugged, "Well let's move onto better news: you're all invited to my 18th birthday after exams."

"I'm sorry, what? 18th?" Brandon just stared at her, as did everyone else at the table, "Don't you mean your 'sweet 16'?"

Samantha snorted, "My 16th wasn't that sweet, but it was what got me up the courage force my parents to let me to go public school."

"Then why aren't you in grade 12?" Caleb asked.

"Because my old private school had a bullshit system for grades that meant I couldn't transfer any credits or even courses over, so they just stuck me in grade nine again to make things simple," Samantha sighed, "Not that I mind so much, I mean at least I got to meet you guys."

Anger Heart looked Samantha up and down, "You don't look like you're nearly 18."

Samantha glared at the fox for a moment, then sighed and put a hand on her nearly flat chest, "Yeah well… maybe I just don't have it in me, who cares though? In two weeks my parents can't force me to do anything every again."

"Well I'll definitely come, if I'm invited," Guidance Heart smiled. Her sentiment was echoed the rest of their friends.

None of them noticed Samantha's sister Emily watching them. She left before any of them could see her and pulled out her cell phone, "Mom, dad, she wasn't on a real date…"

OoOoO

Love Heart sat at the overly clean dining table and faced Defiant Heart's mother. She sipped at a mug of freshly brewed coffee.

"I guess it started when I got pregnant with Daniel…" She sighed, "We were going over our finances and we saw that even with one of us working full time we wouldn't be able to support a family, even just one child, so as soon as I could I started working part time, and once we could afford daycare I went full time. Neither of us wanted to live day to day, paycheck to paycheck so we threw ourselves into our work. After a while we found that we enjoyed the challenges at our jobs and we kept working harder and harder for it's own sake."

"While you neglected the son you were working for," Love Heart's tone was scathing as he glared at the woman. "Did you even notice when he turned into a badger?"

She fiddled with her coffee mug, "I think we did, but we didn't really consider it much. He still sounds the way he used to so we know it's him."

Love Heart sighed, "at least you didn't throw him out on the street."

"How could we!?" his mother's voice rose considerably, "He's our son! It doesn't matter what he looks like!"

"Does your husband agree?"

"Yes…he came home two months after Daniel changed and he was surprised but he said it didn't matter as long as he was our son." She sighed and relaxed again.

"Where is your husband?" Love Heart leaned forwards, with his arms folded on the table.

"His job makes him travel a lot, but it is worth it even though he's stuck at his job level. He's too good at what he does get promoted into something more sedentary." She drained the last of her coffee then took it to the dishwasher.

Love Heart followed after her, "You must have enough savings now. Why is this so hard to do?"

"Because…" She took a deep breath, "Because I'm working for more than just our present. I'm pushing hard enough to inspire others beneath me and keep the company more diverse at higher levels, it's a challenge I enjoy and I don't want to back off after all the work I've put into this." She turned to Love Heart, "I'm torn between wanting to be there for my son and my company, but even if I can't be there for him personally I'll support him in whatever he does, as long as he's not becoming a real monster."

Love Heart sighed and put a hand to his forehead, "That's better than I expected, but you still need to do more than that, he doesn't even remember your names," he held up a hand, "Don't tell me, if you want him to remember then you have to talk to him. I'm trying to help him and both of you but I can't just be a proxy for communication."

She nodded, "I understand and thank you for at least being his friend…I need to think about all of this. Why are you helping?"

Love Heart smiled, "He needs help and this is what we Care Bears do, we help people."

"Well I hope every other Care Bear is as thoughtful as you."

OoOoO

Samantha's dread had returned as Caleb pulled up in front of her house, lessened somewhat by the relaxed afternoon she'd had with her friends. She made it to her front door then turned and waved to Caleb, which let him know it was alright to leave. She watched him drive off then fished the heart shaped crystal out of her pocket. She held it to her chest for a moment then shoved it into her pocket. Time to face the music.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife as Samantha stepped in the front door. Her parents and sister were nowhere to be found. She was practically on her toes as she stepped through the house.

"Welcome home," the steely voice belonged to her father, who emerged from the kitchen. Before Samantha could say anything, her father crossed behind her and locked the deadbolt, "How was your date?"

"It was fine, the movie was good," Samantha felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck.

"Just you and that boy from the church?"

Her father's leading tone didn't escape Samantha's attention as he lit a pipe and took a long draught. She stuck her hand in her pocket and gripped the crystal hidden there, which felt warm to the touch as she decided on her answer. "Caleb and I met our friends at the mall to go to the movie."

"I see," her father took the pipe from his mouth, "Samantha, you've been spiraling down a road to disaster for the last two years. Public school does not allow any sort of redemption and I see you on a path that leads to Hell. In 13 days we are sending you to a convent in Toronto where you will learn to be a proper woman, better than you sister if you can."

Fear and rage boiled up within Samantha, but rage won out, "You can't do this to me!" She made a dash for the door but was caught by the arm.

"I can and must, for your sake as well as ours. You're not an adult yet." His grip was too tight to escape, "I will not watch you destroy your life and be corrupted by those abominations you call friends. We have already taken the liberty of contacting your school and the convent to let them know you're coming and you will be escorted to the airport Saturday evening. We are willing to risk our souls by missing one day of church to ensure that yours is saved."

"Let go of me!" Samantha raised her free right hand, accidentally bringing the crystal with it, and tried to strike her father, only for him to catch her free hand.

"This kind of violence…what is that?" He spotted the crystal.

"It's mine!" Samantha closed her hands into a vice-like grip.

Her father's strength proved too much and he forcefully unbound her fingers from the crystal and tore it away, "More ostentatious garbage from those friends of yours. I need to have a talk with Caleb's parents about what they let their son get up to, as for you," he marched Samantha up to her bedroom while she struggled all the way. She had just enough time to see the lock on the outside of her room as she was shoved in and heart the click behind her.

"You will stay in there until you accept our decision, or we will drag you to the airport, kicking and screaming if we must." Her father's pronouncement had an air of finality to it as he marched off, throwing the crystal in the trash can of his bedroom.

Samantha picked herself up off the floor, tears staining her cheeks as she searched the room. The window was locked with a keyed padlock and any electronics she'd had were gone. She didn't own a cell phone which meant she was cut off. She charged at the door and beat on the door, trying to break it down. "LET! ME! OUT!"

"Please stop, baby sister, you're only going to hurt yourself."

"Emily?" Samantha stopped.

"I'm sorry but I had to follow you to see if you were telling the truth. Why did you lie, baby sister?"

Samantha was seething, she wiped her eyes as she breathed harder and harder until she finally let out a massive scream, "I HATE YOU!"

Samantha didn't hear Emily retreat, she just slumped down against the door and cried.

OoOoO

"Mom, dad, why are Samantha's parents so…overbearing?" Caleb sat at a table with his parents.

His father sighed, "Because some people think the only way to salvation is to force it on others, but forcing people into that is just…wrong. That's why we let you choose to stop going to church once you were old enough to stay home alone. You came back because you enjoyed the community, it was best that you found your own reason to keep the faith rather than it be forced on you, which would make you resent it."

"I wish we could do something, but even though we've reported out concerns to child protective services, there is little we can do…" Caleb's mother sighed. "All we can do is hope they take action before too long."

OoOoO

"She's been taken out of school."

The teacher's words rang in Anger Heart's ears as he marched down the sidewalk towards Samantha's address. Steam rose from his body as he stormed up the front walk and banged on the door.

The door didn't even open as a man's voice roared form within, "You have one minute to get off my property before I call the police on you, monster!"

"You're the monster! What did you do to Samantha!?" Anger Heart pounded on the door again.

"Thirty seconds!"

Anger Heart fumed but turned and left the house.

OoOoO

"Why can't we do anything?!" Anger Heart slammed his hands on the table, "They're keeping her locked up in there!"

"What do you want us to do?! Go break down their door and drag Samantha out? We'd be arrested and have to go on the run." Love Heart sat with his arms folded and stared Anger Heart down. Guidance Heart stood aside, fearful to get in between the two.

"I…I just…" Anger Heart growled, "Well what do you want us to do?!"

Love Heart sighed, "Nothing. We can't do anything without getting in serious trouble, so unless you want to get arrested just sit tight and study for your exams." Love Heart stood up, "Now I have my own practise to do until the weekend."

Anger Heart just growled but he turned to Guidance Heart. He instantly softened when he saw the fear on her face, "ARe you alright?" He stood up and was thankful that Guidance didn't back off.

"You scared me, Alex, but I know how you feel. I want to help Samantha too but… Love Heart's right, at best we would be trespassing and maybe even kidnapping." She took Anger Heart's hands in her own, "Now let's just focus on something to take your mind off this, OK?"

"Studying…" Anger Heart sounded disappointed.

"Yes, just be happy you have me to help you," Guidance Heart smiled.

"Why don't you have to take exams again?" Anger Heart asked as he sat down at the table again.

"Because I got over 90% in every subject so the exams are more likely to lower my grades this year, now let's go over algebra."

Anger Heart groaned.

OoOoO

13 days spent trapped in her room were torture for Samantha. Food left for her while she slept so she didn't have a chance to escape and she could feel her will breaking. Her desire to resist going away more each day as she was cut off from even basic social interaction. By the next weekend she stopped shouting through her door at her family and just lay in bed when she didn't have anything to eat or drink. She had run out of tears and now just waited for her inevitable end.

When the day finally came, her father had almost finished packing her bag when Emily entered the room and accidentally knocked over the trash can next to the duffle bag he was packing for his youngest daughter. Nothing seemed to spill out and no one noticed the color shifting heart-shaped crystal tumble into the bag before he zipped it up.

Samantha felt like an empty husk, physically and mentally, when her bedroom door opened for the first time when she was awake since she was shut in here. Her mother entered and maneuvered her like a mannequin to dress her in the special robes and clothes she would be wearing for the next eight years, minimum.

"You'll thank us for this later, Samantha, when you are a better person," She said. Samantha didn't respond.

Samantha was led out of her room and the duffle bag was lifted over her shoulder. "There, now let's get going."

Samantha felt a strange warmth from the duffle bag as she was all but tossed into the backseat of the car and buckled in alongside her duffle bag and Emily and their mother waved goodbye from the front step.

At first Samantha just rode in silence, the ride was stalled by unexpected traffic and her father gripping the steering wheel. Despite the rage induced in those around him from the traffic jam, her father remained calm and didn't even say a thing to her, save one: "This is the start of a new life for you. You'll thank us when you're done."

Samantha didn't respond, but her attention was gradually drawn to the duffle bag and the warmth she felt. She looked at the pocket watch that had been attached to her robes, 11:00pm. When the car started to move again and her father was focused on the road, Samantha carefully opened the duffle bag's central pocket.

There it was! Glowing with the shifting colors of the rainbow was the crystal that had been given to her by the wish she made on the star. The crystal that she had been told would find its way back to her. She looked up, fearful of her father's reaction and as they turned onto the road into the airport she managed to grab the crystal and pull it into her robe sleeves. Instantly, Samantha felt the warmth return to her and she started to fill up again. Her eyes narrowed at the man that had sired her, but she relaxed her gaze when he looked back at her briefly as they pulled into the airport's entrance.

She only had one chance. If she was forced into the terminal then it was all over.

Her father came around and opened the door, unfastening her seatbelt, then gently moving her outside the car as he reached for the duffle bag.

Now! Samantha slammed the door hard, knocking him on the rear and off balance enough to make him fall forwards and she ran. It was dark and cold even in the early summer air but that didn't matter, Samantha had one last chance at her own freedom and she took it. She felt parts of the robe tear as she vaulted over a parking barricade and onto the flatlands, running south. There were houses in the distance, a new project she heard of, maybe she could hide there or at least evade capture long enough. The dark robes suddenly found a purpose as camouflage for her as she left the well lit area around the airport. She swore she could hear her father yelling at her but she didn't stop to turn and see, pressing forwards as fast as she could, the crystal in her hand and the pocket watch thumping against her side.

Samantha's run came to an end when she hit a slope, tripped and rolled down, landing in a shallow trickle of a stream. She coughed and spluttered as she pulled herself up as the robes plastered to her body as she crawled back onto the bank. There was a small depression in the wall of the false riverbed and she leaned up against it.

Sirens.

Samantha wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there but she heard police sirens. Whether they were searching for her or not it didn't matter, she had nowhere to go now and her reckless run had sealed her fate if she was caught by her father.

She looked down at the watch: 11:58pm on the eve of her 18th birthday.

She pulled her right arm free and held up the crystal. Her eyes narrowed, "Samantha will never be an adult." She held the crystal to her chest with both hands as the watch ticked to 11:59pm. "Crystal, Star, please turn me into a Care Bear!"

The crystal pulsed then lit up in a bright glow and dissolved into Samantha's body.

Samantha felt a soft warmth covering her body, then the changes started. Her ears moved up the side of her head and enlarged, her face pushed forwards as her nose spread out and became wet and several new sharp teeth formed in her mouth; she actually felt herself gaining mass all over her body, arms, legs, torso and chest though she didn't gain or lose any height. She let out a groan as she felt a tingle all over her body as fur grew in and a sudden cry of pain as her new tail forced its way out from the base of her spine and she let out a howl towards the sky

She lay still for a moment, then scrambled to pull off the robes but found them plastered too hard to her body. Furious, she bit into them with her teeth, finding them much stronger as she literally tore the robes and the new clothes underneath to shreds.

"I saw a light over there, maybe it's her!"

She heard the voice from above as she finally tore the clothes free from her body. She suddenly found herself full of energy again and she took off without a single look back at where she had come from. A moment later the police searchers found the torn robes and abandoned watch; they never noticed the figure running through the night back into the city.


	20. Reborn

A/N: I just wat to give a big thank you to a friend without whom this chapter would be only about 1000 words long and helped shape the direction this chapter went. I'll leave it up to them to reveal who they are.

Chapter 20: Reborn

While they waited for their passports to arrive, Confidence Heart Fennec, Sage Heart Bear, Life Heart Unicorn, Sweet Heart Pegasus and Independent Bear had little they could do except sit around their hotel suite under the spell that keep them hidden from any prying eyes. Considering the circumstances they all opted to go without clothes until they had to leave.

Sweet Heart Pegasus lay on the couch in the hotel suite and stared up at the ceiling. She squirmed for a moment then sat up, "I wanna go outside!"

"Hush dear, I'm almost done," Life Heart Unicorn's horn glowed as she took the last of the bandaging off Confidence Heart's arm, "How does it feel?"

Confidence Heart Fennec flexed her right arm and grimaced slightly, "Stiff and sore."

"That's to be expected, you haven't used it for a while now," Life Heart swept her magical aura over her arm again, "You're fully healed, now you should start using it again so you can get used to it."

"Right," Confidence got up from the chair, "I'm gonna get some exercise while I can."

While Confidence went off to do some push ups in her bedroom, Life Heart turned to Sweet Heart, who bounced on the couch and flapped her wings to hover for a moment before she landed on the couch. She jumped again and was about to land, when a magical grip slowed her descent to set her down softly. "Sweet Heart, we don't want to wreck the furniture or we'll have to pay for it."

"But I'm bored!" Sweet Heart jumped off the couch then flapped her wings, "I can't fly around in here and it's stuffy!" She bonked her head on ceiling before she landed with a *thump* on the ground, she put her hand on her head.

Life Heart walked over and rubbed her daughter's head then helped her to her feet, "I know, I can't stand it either. Just a couple more days until our passports arrive then we can see your brother again."

Sweet Heart smiled upon hearing that, "OK. I can wait. Can I go out on the balcony?"

"Yes, just don't fly off into the sky, promise?" Life Heart patted her head.

Sweet Heart put her hand over her heart, "I promise." She turned and skipped onto the balcony, after she slid the door open. She took a deep breath of the outside air, not quite fresh but better than being stuck inside.

Independent Bear was sitting on a chair by the window in the room he was sharing with Confidence Heart when she entered and dropped to the floor to start doing push-ups. Indy sighed, stood up and exited the room where he almost bumped into Sage Heart Bear.

"Excuse me," Indy brushed past him.

"Wait, Independent Bear, can we talk." Sage Heart's voice caused Indy to stop and turn to face him.

"Why?"

"You've barely spoken to us for the last two weeks, I'd like to get to know you." Sage Heart smiled.

The silver bear sighed, "I guess. I'm not used to being around other people, or having a real conversation."

Sage Heart motioned him to the suite's dining table and retrieved a couple leftover pop cans from the fridge. "Well we can start with what you're going to do when we leave."

Indy eyed the can in front of him for a moment before he cracked it and took a drink, gagging slightly at the overly sweet taste, "I guess I'll go back to wandering."

"Why don't you come with us on the plane?" Sage Heart took a more conservative sip from his can.

Indy shook his head, "I'm not a legal citizen of this country, or anywhere, and I don't have a passport."

Sage Heart watched Indy for a moment as the silver bear took a longer drink. "Independent Bear, do you hate being here?"

Indy stopped drinking then sighed as he set the can down, "It's not as bad as I thought it would be, but I'm so used to wandering that this just feel unnatural."

"I see…" Sage Heart looked down at his drink.

Life Heart walked over and around to the front of Indy, "Mind if I join in, Indy?"

Indy looked up at her, "Not at all," he found his eyes wandering down to her baby bump.

Life Heart noticed and smiled, "Want to feel it?"

Indy blushed slightly but he couldn't resist and reached down to touch her belly. He smiled.

Life Heart waited for a moment then sat down on a different side to the two bears as Indy withdrew his hand. "So, you like that?"

"I guess…" Indy was still blushing.

Sage Heart chuckled, "Well that's something. Would you like to talk some more?"

"About what?" Indy finally looked up at both of them.

"Your past," Life Heart reached over and touched Indy's hand.

"I guess, you told me about your past already," Indy pulled his hand away from Life Heart and averted his gaze again.

Sage Heart saw the look in the silver bear's eyes, "Independent Bear, are you envious of us?"

"A little. Living in paradise most of your lives and you had it pretty easy even when you had to live in the human world." Indy sighed, "But I can't hate you for it, it's not any of our faults." Indy looked back up at the two of them, "I was raised by a man named Koran, he gave me my names from old friends of his. He never talked about his past much, except that he was a kineticist." Indy finished off his drink then set the can down, he levitated it up and tossed it into the nearby recycle bin, "He taught me everything he could before he died two years ago and I learned Aether as my element. He said he was the last kineticist on earth…but I guess he didn't know about you guys."

"He might very well have been." Life Heart's words got Indy's attention, "Humans have forgotten how to use magic so it's likely he was the last human kineticist, and until I taught my family there weren't any kineticists left on Earth other than you two."

Indy stared at her, "But can't you use kinetics?"

Life Heart shook her head, "No." She placed a hand on her chest, right over her chest symbol, "I'm as old as human civilization, even older in fact, and I have seen every kind of magic used by humans throughout history. I cannot use most of them but I can teach any kind of magic if needed. A unicorn's mind is a repository for knowledge, though other memories have faded." She smiled at Sage Heart who smiled back and took her hand, "The memories of the last twenty years are more precious to me than the millennia of bare existence I had before I became a Care Bear, and a mother. I love you Sage Heart, you've opened my world up in ways I can't even begin to describe."

"I love you, Life Heart, for being my shining oasis in a world of chaos, for your support and the gentle hand you've always had for me," Sage Heart leaned over and they kissed.

Indy watched the display for a moment with an awkward look on his face, "How did this turn into an intimate moment?"

Life Heart blushed and turned back to him, "Sorry, I think we're all getting a case of cabin fever locked up in here. I do want to ask, what are you going to do when we leave if you can't come with us?"

Independent Bear sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I don't know, but I was thinking about following you on foot." He tilted his head up for a moment to see the astonished looks, "As awkward as I find this, after all the time I spent running from those wo nut-jobs, Shatter Heart and Blade Star, I don't want to face them alone. After you leave I'll travel to Regina on foot and meet you there in a week or two, if you can wait for me."

"Are you sure? We don't know if we can wait for you once we get there, we don't know what we're going to encounter there," Sage Heart said.

Indy sat forwards, "It's all I can do."

Life Heart nodded then gave a smile, "Before we go, we can teach you how to use your chest symbol."

Indy looked down at the small heart surrounded by ten small stars on his chest and poked it with his right index finger, "I guess I haven't really learned to us this yet."

Sage Heart stood up, "Alright, then let's get started."

OoOoO

Anger Heart held up his hands, a small fire burning in the empty space between them. "I did it!" he smirked.

Love Heart looked over at him and smiled, "That's good, keep it up until you're tired again." He turned to Defiant Heart an Guidance Heart who held fields of sparkling blue mana in both hands.

Guidance Heart sighed and let her hands drop as the field dispersed, "Sorry but I can't focus today." She hung her head, "It's Samantha's birthday."

Upon hearing this Anger Heart's fire went out and he sighed then grit his teeth, "Her parents did something, I know it!" He growled, "And we're just sitting here!"

The sound of a car out front drew their attention and Defiant Heart let his field disperse, "Alright, I can do this."

"Guess we're done for the day," Love Heart sighed and entered the house, followed by his three students.

Anger Heart and Guidance Heart only said a brief "hello" to Defiant Heart's parents before they left. Defiant Heart took a deep breath as he caught sight of his parents, both in the same room for the first time since he could remember.

Love Heart put a hand on Defiant's shoulder, "You can do this."

"Aren't you going to stick around?" Defiant kept his gaze locked on his parents, who were sitting on the couch together and just staring back at their son and the green bear.

"No, you need to do this on your own. I need to be alone to practise something personal. I'll be back later." With that, Love Heart let go of Defiant's shoulder and exited through the front door.

Defiant Heart Badger stood still for a minute, letting the silence wash over him, before his father spoke.

"Daniel, can we talk please?"

Defiant Heart tensed slightly but entered the living room and stood across from the coffee table with his back to the TV. He wanted to sit down but at the same time he couldn't relax around them, not anymore. "Alright, what are we talking about?"

His mother winced but spoke, "Daniel, I know we haven't…" she sighed, "OK, we've been terrible parents, I'm not going to deny that."

Defiant Heart kept his gaze locked on them, "You could be worse. Don't expect me to give any more praise."

"OK, we deserve that." His father hung his head, "I don't know what else to tell you other than, we're sorry."

"Not even going promise to spend more time with me?" Daniel glowered at them.

His mother averted her gaze, "It would be a hollow promise if we even tried. I want to say we would but…"

"But you're not even going to try!" Defiant's voice rose as he slapped a hand to his chest, "You don't even care that I'm a badger now?! Or that I have this," He pulled down his shirt collar to expose his chest symbol, a pirate flag with crossed swords and a heart where the skull would be.

His mother turned her whole head away to hide the tears, his father didn't even bother, "Your change was…concerning but I can see you're still you."

"How can you tell?! You barely say me before this, how do you know I didn't kill Daniel and take his place?! Would you even care if I was?!" Daniel's voice had risen to shouting.

"Of course we've care!" His mother turned back, she was visibly crying as she almost shouted, "We still know it's you! It's your voice and eyes!"

Defiant Heart growled then turned away, "I need to go."

"Where are you going?" His father got up and tried to take his arm, but Defiant Heart dodged aside.

"Out!"

"When will you be back?"

Defiant Heart pulled open the door, "Later!" He slammed the door behind him as he left.

His parents stayed in silence for a moment before his mother spoke up, "Should we stop him?"

His father shook his head, "No, unless he needs our help the best we can do is give him the same freedom we've done thus far. We have two weeks of vacation so in that time we need to at least know what he's going to do and try to make up for years of neglect."

His mother looked out the window at the retreating badger, "That's impossible."

OoOoO

Love Heart hovered half-a-meter off the ground as he floated down the street. He wasn't even tired anymore after flying two blocks. He landed carefully at a crosswalk and waited for the light to change, not caring about the looks he was getting from several pedestrians. By this point a green bear flying down the street wasn't a big deal, but it still drew attention.

Love Heart crossed the street and turned into the Wascana Park, a large park in the center of the city that surrounded a man-made lake. He kept to the trees and took a deep breath of the air, not as fresh as home but better than most of the city. He sighed then smiled. No use dwelling on the past, his family would be here soon.

"What are you doing, Love Heart? Practising kinetics"

Love Heart shrugged, "Just spending some time alone…!" Love Heart rounded on the voice and found a teal colored canine Care Bear with blue eyes leaning up against a tree next to him.

Love Heart's hand shot to his chest symbol, which glowed as he tensed for a fight, "Let me guess, 'come with me or die!'?" Love Heart conjured one of his swords and pointed it at the canine's throat.

The canine fell away from the tree and onto her butt as she held up her hands defensively, "What nononono! I'm not that! Why would I be?"

Love Heart's expression didn't soften as he closed the distance between them, "You know my name and that I'm a kineticist but I don't know you! Who sent you?!"

"No one!" The canine backed away but Love Heart kept up his advance, with the sword centimeters from her throat. "I know you, I'm Samantha!"

Love Heart blinked, then pulled his sword away and for the first time he noticed that she didn't have a chest symbol. He didn't relax though, "How can you be Samantha? What happened to you?"

The canine gulped, "After you gave me the basic mana conjuring lesson I went home and Caleb took me on a date that was just a movie outing. My big sister was spying on me and then my dad locked me in my room for the last two weeks. He was going to ship me off to a convent in Toronto to make me into a nun or something. I bolted at the airport and hid until midnight then I used that crystal I showed you to turn into a Care Bear." She watched Love Heart, who had visibly relaxed, "Do you believe me?"

Love Heart let his sword dissipate, "Your voice is the same and your eyes too," Love Heart offered a hand and helped Samantha to stand up, "So what are you? Some kind of wolf?"

Samantha grinned and spun once in place, flicking her tail as she did so, "I'm a Coyote, what do you think?" She winked at Love Heart.

"Not bad," Love Heart folded his arms, "But you said this was permanent so what do _you_ think? Are you happy with this?"

"Are you kidding," Samantha's coyote face lit up in a bright grin, "I feel fantastic! I ran all the way here without getting tired and I feel so strong!" She flexed her arms, feeling muscles that hadn't been on her twig-like arms and legs the previous night, "And I'm hot! I mean look," she ran her hands up her wider hips and her toned waist up to cup her large breasts, "I was flat-chested twig last night and now look at me!" She stuck her tongue out and winked at Love Heart as she crossed her arms under her breasts to lift them up, "Don't tell me this doesn't turn you on."

Love Heart blushed and averted his gaze, "I have a girlfriend, and how old are you?"

"18 today," Samantha giggled then shook her head, "Sorry I'm just loving this so much, I even have a tail!" She flicked her tail again, "And the best part is my family won't recognise me, as far as they know I just dropped off the face of the Earth, never to be seen again! On that note, I do need something."

Love Heart turned back to look at her and saw Samantha pointing at her chest, right above the middle of her breasts, "I need a new name and chest symbol. Can you help me? Consider it a birthday present."

Love Heart looked her up and down and then looked her in the eye, "I can. But what do you think is your greatest quality?"

Samantha blinked then pulled her hand away from her chest, "Well I guess being clever and sneaky. It's now I got them to send me to normal school and avoided being caught last night." She scratched her chin, "What about Crafty Heart?"

"If you want then your name will be Crafty Heart Coyote." Love Heart's chest symbol lit up and a glowing light flew over to her. It whirled around her then landed on her chest.

She smiled, "It's warm." She looked down as the glow faded and left her chest symbol: an incomplete jigsaw puzzle in the shape of a valentine heart with the top left being pink, the bottom left being blue and the bottom right being yellow while the top right part was missing. She touched it then grinned, "Alright! Can you show me how to use it?"

"I can but let's find somewhere else," Love Heart motioned for Crafty Heart to follow him, "So why did you come to me first? I barely know you."

Crafty Heart put her hands behind her head and grinned, "Because you don't know my parents so they won't find out about this from you, if I told any of my friends then word might get out and everything would be for nothing."

Love Heart gave her a sideways glare, "Crafty was definitely the right name for you."

Crafty stuck out her tongue again, "We'll go meet them all for supper. Hopefully they won't recognise me and I can start over completely."

"What about your family."

Love Heart's question made her stop dead in her tracks. She glared at the ground, "Fuck them. They always tried to control me and twist me into another soulless doll like Emily. If I ever talk to them again it will be on my terms."

Love Heart turned around then put his hands on her shoulders, "If you're sure, but you can't keep this a secret from your friends. They deserve to know or they'll spend their lives wondering what happened to you."

Crafty Heart sighed and looked up at Love Heart with sorrowful eyes, "OK. I'll tell them tonight if I can convince them not to spread it around." She looked down at herself then up at Love Heart, "So question: I'm naked but why don't I look…naked. I mean I can't see anything inappropriate."

Love Heart stepped back, "I noticed that too. I asked mom and dad about it once and they said that it's some sort of magic that's tied into being a Care Bear. This passive field covers us and makes us look modest even when we're not wearing clothes, most of the time."

"Oh?" Crafty leaned in to Love Heart's face and tilted her head, "And when doesn't it?"

Love Heart blushed, "When we're in an intimate situation it all…comes out. I noticed when Confidence and I had sex the first time."

"Good to know. So do I have to wear clothes?" Crafty stood back.

Love Heart looked around at the people who were staring at them, "It's helps people feel comfortable around us, and some places still insist you wear clothes when you go inside."

Crafty Heart sighed and folded her arms, "Alright, but I'm kinda broke so I'm just gonna wear my new birthday suit for my birthday."

OoOoO

Defiant Heart didn't have any specific destination in mind when he left the house, he just wanted to get out and think, and that wasn't easy. His mind kept wandering back to his parents and he kept shaking it off. Why was this so hard?

Defiant Heart looked up to see that he had wandered right up to the edge of Wascana Park. He rolled his eyes and was about to walk away when he heard two familiar voices nearby.

"Good to know. So do I have to wear clothes?"

"It's helps people feel better about us, and some places still insist you wear clothes when you go inside."

"Alright, but I'm kinda broke so I'm just gonna wear my new birthday suit for my birthday."

Defiant Heart looked over and saw Love Heart talking to a green coyote Care Bear. He wanted to walk away, but this was the distraction he needed and he walked towards them, "Hey, who's the new girl?"

Love Heart and Crafty Heart turned to Defiant Heart. Crafty gave a wink to Love Heart who nodded, "Defiant Heart, this is Crafty Heart Coyote. I just ran into her in the park and gave her her name and chest symbol."

"Nice to meet you," Crafty Heart hopped over to Defiant Heart and extended a hand.

Defiant Heart regarded her oddly, something about her voice sounded familiar. He still took her hand and shook it, "You too. So why are you naked?"

"Because I don't have any clothes and you can't see anything anyway," Crafty smirked, "What, can't handle this?" She put her arms behind her head and pushed her chest out.

Defiant Heart didn't budge, "I don't have a problem with it but some people might."

Crafty stopped posing, "Well maybe I should meet some of your friends then."

Defiant Heart averted his gaze, "I don't really have any other friends."

"Well then we can meet my friends. Want to go to Anger Heart's house tonight?" Love Heart asked.

Defiant sighed, "Maybe, I need to stay away from the house for a while."

Love Heart reached out and took Defiant's shoulder, "Trouble with your parents?"

Crafty's eyes narrowed as Defiant sighed, "I just don't want to talk to them right now. They think they can just come back and try to be my parents after all this time… It's just, uggggg!"

"But they're trying. You should go back and talk to them."

"Honestly you've been more of a family to me than they ever have, Love Heart," Defiant Heart sighed. "I'll try, after I go to the gym."

Crafty Heart watched Defiant leave and then sighed, "I guess I'm not the only one with a messed up family."

Love Heart turned back to her, "Yeah. So what do you want to do until we go to Anger Heart's?"

Crafty put her arms behind her head, "I dunno, just wander the town and relax for a bit, and hope I don't see my parents anywhere."

Love Heart sighed, "How about I show you how to use your chest symbol and some more magic training."

Crafty grinned, "Sounds good to me."

OoOoO

Anger Heart was in his element over the stove as he stirred the leek, potato and onion soup, "Just a little more and I'll add the milk, I hope you're hungry cause this stuff is filling!" He called into the living room where Brandon, Caleb and Guidance Heart sat.

"We are," Brandon called back then sighed and sat back on the couch, "I just wish Samantha was here, we can't even celebrate her birthday with her."

"I know," Guidance Heart gripped the hem of her skirt in her lap then released it, "But we can celebrate for her."

"Maybe…" Caleb leaned back on the couch.

Anger Heart exited the kitchen into the living room and plopped down next to Guidance Heart, "Gonna take twenty minutes now, wanna watch some TV?"

"Sure," Brandon grabbed the remote and flipped the TV on, right when there was a knock on the door.

Caleb answered to find Love Heart and Defiant Heart there standing with a green coyote he didn't recognize; he blushed when he realized she wasn't clothed.

The coyote grinned and waved over Love Heart and Defiant's shoulders, "Hiya, how's it going."

"Caleb, everyone, get over here!" Anger Heart's shout drew their attention as Brandon turned up the TV volume.

" _Last night, 17-year-old Samantha Cartwright disappeared. We are not at liberty to discuss the exact circumstances surrounding her disappearance but if you see this woman then please report her location to the police."_

Everyone stared at the TV news report. Love Heart glared at Crafty Heart who sighed and walked over to look at the picture on the screen, "Not a bad picture, but not what I looked like when I ran."

"Samantha, what?" Guidance Heart stared at Crafty Heart who grinned back. "Who are you?"

"What, you don't recognise me?" Crafty Heart stood up.

Anger Heart glared at the coyote, "You sound like her and those eyes… But how?"

"She used a crystal the Great Wishing Star gave her, but she can explain it better," Love Heart took a seat.

"It is you, right, Samantha?" Brandon peered close to Crafty's eyes.

Crafty giggled and winked, "Yep, and I'll tell you everything as long as you promise not to tell anyone, especially not my parents."

Everyone stared at her until Guidance Heart spoke. "Alright, I promise," she reached her hand forwards.

"Me too," Caleb reached in too.

"I'll keep quiet," Anger Heart reached in.

"Same," Brandon added his hand.

"Fine, I'll keep it quiet," Defiant Heart didn't look as he added his hand.

"I promise too. So tell them everything." Love Heart didn't add his hand and stood to the side.

"Alright, well it started when Caleb took me home after the movie two weeks ago…"

OoOoO

"…And that's when Love Heart gave me the name 'Crafty Heart Coyote'." Crafty Heart sat back against the back of the couch, "And good riddance to those people who called themselves my family."

"That's, I mean I didn't think your parents would do something like that, Samantha," Caleb shuddered, "Sorry."

"It's not your fault, and call me Crafty Heart Coyote from now on, OK?" Samantha smirked.

"If you insist." A beep from the kitchen drew Anger Heart's attention, "Gotta finish the soup."

Crafty Heart laughed. "Sounds great, so does someone want to get me a cake? It's still my birthday."


	21. Reunion

Chapter 21: Reunion

"Love Heart, wake up." Love Heart stirred in his bed then rolled over, his eyes bleary. Was that Life Heart? He drew his hand across his eyes to clear them and saw what looked like the ghostly image of his mom, Life Heart Unicorn, standing next to his bed.

"Mom?" He sat up.

"Good. I need to be short, we are leaving now and will be there in eight hours. Please come meet us." This image froze in place, like a video on pause.

Love Heart nodded, "OK, I'll see you at the airport later, mom." He waited for a moment then the image disappeared. Love Heart shook his head as he became fully awake and smiled, "My family's coming, they're coming! Woo!" Love Heart's shout reverberated through the house. He glanced at the clock, 4:25am, then strolled out of his room.

Defiant Heart emerged from his bedroom and glared at the giddy bear, "Keep it down, we're trying to sleep." Love Heart didn't even seem to notice him. Defiant Heart grumbled then went back to bed.

"What was that?" Crafty mumbled in her half asleep state as Defiant got in next to her.

"Just Love Heart, go back to sleep," Defiant Heart smashed his head back into his pillow.

Four hours later Defiant Heart finally came downstairs; he didn't even bother to get dressed as he grabbed some cereal and sat down to munch. Love Heart came in from the back door a moment later covered in sweat and passed by Defiant on his way to the shower. When Love Heart came down he was finally dressed in the same clothes he'd first arrived in, thankfully washed several times in the past month.

"You're happy today, what happened?" Defiant dumped his dishes in the dishwasher.

Love Heart was smiling, "My family's finally coming, they'll be here in four hours." Love Heart grabbed his own bowl of cereal, "So why are you sleeping with Crafty Heart?"

"I'm letting her share my bed because I don't want to force her to sleep on the couch after everything she's been through," Defiant turned to Love Heart, "And you took the guest room."

"Right. So how did your conversation with your parents go?" Love Heart sat down and dug into his breakfast.

Defiant Heart sighed and leaned up against the wall with his arms folded, "It barely went at all."

"Did you at least hear them out?"

Defiant Heart opened his mouth to shout, then closed it and thought before he continued, "Honestly, I don't want to hear them out. They've almost completely ignored me for my entire life and I'm just supposed to forgive them after all of that? I don't think they deserve a chance anymore." Defiant stared at the ground, "You've been more of a parent to me in the last month than they ever have."

Love Heart looked up and swallowed his mouthful of cereal, "All I've done is teach you kinetics."

"And that's more than they've ever taught me. My teachers had to teach me how to tie my shoes." Defiant looked up, "Can we get some practise in before you head out."

"Sure," Love Heart drank the rest of his cereal then dropped his dishes in the dishwasher before they headed out back.

Defiant Heart held his hands up and focused his mana into them, trying to give it some form.

Love Heart stood facing Defiant Heart with his arms folded, "Don't rush it, you don't want to hurt yourself."

Defiant bared his teeth as there was as shimmer in between his hands, "I can do this!" A moment later several white flecks appeared and floated in between his hands.

Love Heart blinked, "That's not what I expected. Hold still," Love Heart reached in and plucked one of the white flecks from the field. He stared at it and felt it, "I have no idea what this is, Defiant?"

Defiant Heart was visibly sweating and panting as he maintained the field of white flecks.

"You can stop!" Love Heart dropped the fleck, which dissolved, and grabbed Defiant Heart's shoulder. Defiant stopped and let the field disperse. Love Heart smiled, "It's very draining the first few times you do that."

"Right," Defiant nodded and managed to stand on wobbly feet, "I need a shower, and some food."

Love Heart had left by the time Defiant Heart had showered. He came downstairs to find Crafty Heart munching on some cold take-out pizza. She swallowed, "Morning, Defiant."

"Morning," Defiant Heart opened the fridge and dug out another piece of cold pizza.

Crafty sat down at the table as she finished her slice. "Thanks for sharing your bed."

"No problem," Defiant Heart said with his mouth half-full.

"So why did you let me sleep with you?" Crafty propped her head up on the table with her arms.

"Because you've been through enough and I wasn't going to make you sleep on the couch." Defiant said.

Crafty leaned back in her chair and folded her arms under her breasts, "Question: do you find me attractive?" She smirked.

"Nope."

Crafty blinked, "What?"

"I don't find you attractive," Defiant Heart said.

Crafty wilted slightly, "Why not…?"

Defiant Heart could see Crafty's downcast expression and sighed, "I don't find any girls or women attractive, Crafty, I'm gay."

Crafty started but sat up straighter, "You are?"

Defiant nodded, "I am."

"How did you find out?"

Defiant rolled his eyes, "No parental supervision and unlimited internet access. Does it bother you?"

Crafty shook her head, "No, it's just… well I couldn't tell."

Defiant Heart groaned, "Not every gay man is a 'queen', Crafty."

"Sorry…" Crafty fidgeted in her chair.

"Relax, it's not a big deal. I never bothered to show it off anyway, not like it mattered," Defiant Heart rolled his eyes sideways.

Crafty thought for a moment, "Wait, did you have a crush on Anger Heart?"

Defiant Heart snorted, "Don't tell me you buy into that 'picking on him means you like him' bullshit. I bullied him because I thought it was easy because he was different," he folded his arms, "It was stupid and cruel and I only did it because I needed some attention, even if it was bad." Defiant sighed, "I want to say that I would do it differently if I could go back but honestly I'd still have the same baggage that I have now so I'd probably be the same asshole I've always been." He looked up at Crafty with mild annoyance on his face, "Are you ever going to get dressed?"

Crafty Heart stood up, "Even if I could go back home, none of my clothes fit now."

Defiant Heart sighed, "Right, too loose?"

Crafty Heart grinned and put her arms behind her head, "Nope, too tight. I didn't just fill out but I measured myself at Anger Heart's and I grew about 10cm since I changed. I had to literally tear those stupid robes apart with my new teeth," she grinned which showed off her sharper canines.

Defiant Heart stared at her, his mouth twisted sideways and his left eye half-squinted, "What?!"

Crafty huffed and looked up at the ceiling, "Yeah well in case you hadn't noticed I was kind of a shrimp for an 18-year old, heck I'm pretty sure I skipped puberty," she grinned again, "That crystal gave me everything I wanted and more!"

Defiant glowered at her and folded his arms, "Well I'm so happy you're enjoying it!" his voice dripped sarcasm.

Crafty turned to Defiant Heart and sighed, "Yeah, I get it you hate that this was forced on you, but here's some news," she jabbed her right thumb at her chest, "I literally asked for this!"

Defiant Heart opened his mouth, ready to shoot back, then stopped and shut it again. He saw the smirk that Crafty gave him then glared again and finally spoke up, "And did you think about what this was going to do to your life?"

"You mean other than save me from my family?" Crafty put her hands on her hips.

Defiant growled, "Yeah you escaped, but now what can you do?" he counted off on his fingers as he continued, "You don't have a home, or a social insurance number, or any money, or any possessions, or citizenship," he pointed his index finger at her, "If you're not Samantha then you don't even legally exist! How are you supposed to live like that? Mooch off me for the rest of your life?! Did you even think about how fucked your life was going to be once you transformed?!"

Crafty was taken aback, but she regained her mental footing and fired back, "Do you have any idea how fucked my life was going to be if I didn't do this?!" She slapped her chest symbol with her hand, "My parents were shipping me off to a convent where I was going to be smashed, molded and drained of my spirit until I was an empty husk just like my sister! Yeah I gave up everything for this but at least I have the freedom to choose whatever I do with my life now!" As she spoke she had closed the distance between herself and Defiant Heart and jabbed a finger into his chest, "And what's your big problem? Your parents don't pay attention to you? Oh boo hoo!"

Defiant's eyes blazed and before he knew it he had punched Crafty in the face. Crafty Heart staggered backwards with her hand over nose. She pulled it away to see that she had a nose bleed then looked up at Defiant Heart, who now stood with his hands clenched into fists. Their blood boiled and Crafty let out a howl and pounced on him.

Defiant Heart a Crafty were rolling around on the kitchen and onto the living living room floor kicking, scratching, biting and punching until they were bleeding and bruised (albeit hidden by their fur except for Defiant's black eye). The fight finally ended when Crafty's head smacked into the leg of a side table and stars burst in her vision only for a cheap empty vase to fall off and smash over Defiant's head which left him briefly senseless

They were both lying on their backs on the kitchen floor, waiting for their heads to stop pounding when Defiant finally spoke. "That was a low blow."

"At least I didn't kick you in the nuts," Crafty shot back. "You have it easy."

"Excuse me?!" Defiant Hear tried to push himself up, only for his head to start spinning as he fell to his back again.

Crafty just put a hand to her head, willing the pain to stop, "You heard me. You complain that your parents don't pay attention to you and yeah I get why you were such an ass in school, but at least your parents love you." She waited for a response, but only received a grunt from Defiant Heart, "They know you're a badger and they didn't throw you out. You can do whatever you want and your parents will probably still support you. Despite your looks you could probably do anything you wanted for the rest of your life, get a job, travel or just lie around with no real ambition."

Still no response except for a grunt.

Crafty forced herself to sit up then looked over at the badger, who just stared at the ceiling. She looked away, "All those things you said I gave up, I never really had them."

"What?" Defiant Heart rolled over on his side to get a look at her.

Crafty was crying but she kept her voice level, "I didn't have a SIN, or a driver's license, and my parents always reminded me that the stuff I owned was really theirs. Yeah I mooched off my friends but I never even had an allowance so I didn't have a choice. Honestly the only thing I don't have now is my own bedroom or clothes and that's a small price to pay for what I've gained." Crafty used the table to stand up then offered a hand to Defiant, "I'm sorry about what I said."

Defiant Heart accepted and let her pull up, "It's fine, sorry I punched you."

Crafty smirked, "I think we're pretty even on that."

Defiant Heart sighed, "Yeah." They stood in silence for a moment before Defiant continued, "You're right."

"What?"

"You're right. I don't really appreciate what they done but," he clenched his teeth, "How can I just forgive them for their ignoring me for years?"

"You don't have to, but maybe just be grateful for what they have done and for accepting you even as you changed." Crafty put a hand on Defiant's shoulder.

Defiant gave her a sideways glance, "Are you trying to convince me to give them a second chance?"

Crafty Heart put on an innocent smile, "Who me? Being crafty? Never."

Defiant Heart sighed, "Maybe. Let's get this cleaned up before someone step- YOWCH!"

"Too late," Crafty winced as Defiant sat down on the couch and pulled the shard out of his foot.

OoOoO

Anger Heart was not happy to be awakened by loud banging on their front door. Guidance Heart stirred as he slid out of bed. "Alex?"

"Just some psycho at the door, I'll go check and call the police if I need to," Anger Heart touched her briefly before he headed for the door; he didn't bother to get dressed.

As soon as Anger Heart was in the living room, he saw the man lifting his head up to the half-sun window at the top of the door, it was Samantha's, or rather Crafty Heart's father. Anger Heart growled and didn't even bother to open the door as he spoke. "What the hell do you want?"

"Give me back my daughter you red devil!"

Anger Heart winced at the shout but felt his hackles raise and he snarled through the door, "I told you I don't know your daughter now get the fuck off my front step before I call the police!"

"My daughter is Samantha! I know you were her so-called friend so you had to be the one who took her from me!"

Anger Heart felt his blood boil as he shouted back, "I haven't seen Samantha in two weeks!"

"Lies!" The pounding on the door resumed, "Let me in so I can find her!"

Anger Heart was about to start screaming when he felt Guidance Heart's hand on his shoulder. He relaxed as they both listened to the tirade from the man on their front step for a moment before Anger Heart turned around, "Screw this, I'm calling the police."

Ten minutes of tirades and door banging later, two police officers showed up and dragged Samantha's father off the step.

"But you don't understand! They have my daughter!" He shouted.

Guidance Heart opened the front door and stepped out with Anger Heart behind her. "I'm sorry about this, but he won't leave us alone."

The younger officer gave the pair an odd look, no clothes but they weren't "naked" by a strict definition.

"Give her back! Search their house," Samantha's father struggled.

Anger Heart growled, "If you want them to search then fine! Search the danm house if it'll make you leave us alone!"

The elder of the two officers gave Anger Heart a stern look, "Are you sure. We would normally need a warrant for this."

Guidance Heart nodded and pointed in the front door, "If it will end this peacefully, then please search our house for his daughter so we can continue with our lives undisturbed."

Samantha's father was left to the younger officer as the senior officer searched the house. Anger Heart and Guidance Heart kept their eyes on the man, who had his arms folded and was giving them a severe death glare that Anger Heart matched in intensity.

An hour later the senior officer emerged. "There's no one else inside."

"She has to be in there!" Samantha's father tore away from the younger officer and ran over to the two Care Bears. Guidance Heart stumbled backwards as he grabbed her and started to throttle her, "Tell me where she is!"

Anger Heart grabbed his arm and tried to pull it away from Guidance's throat. There was a sudden rapid clicking sound and Samantha's father slowly went limp. The older officer pulled a stun-gun away from the man as the younger caught him. The elder set the stun-gun back in its holster and went to check Guidance Heart, "Are you alright."

Guidance Heart just nodded as Anger Heart rubbed life back into her neck.

The elder officer nodded and turned back to his younger partner, who had cuffed the stunned man's hands behind his back, "We'll have to take him in on assault charges. Are you going to press charges?"

Anger Heart had to resist the urge the snarl or bare his teeth but simply stared daggers at Samantha's father. "Yes."

"Very well. You'll be contacted later, please show up in clothes though." The senior officer helped move Samantha's father into the squad car and drove away.

Anger Heart helped Guidance Heart inside and onto the couch. "Can you breathe?"

"Yes," Guidance coughed.

"OK. Just sit there and I'll make us breakfast, OK?"

Guidance Heart nodded then smiled, "Thank you, for trying to stop him."

Anger Heart smiled slightly, "No problem."

OoOoO

Love Heart kept his eye on the clock as he slowly ate the rice bowl he'd bought for lunch. It was noon by the time he finished and set the dishes on the counter, "Thank you," he spoke fleetingly as he left the small restaurant. Love Heart couldn't help but grin as he saw a plane fly overhead and felt a tingle in the back of his mind, "They're here!" He jumped for joy and didn't come back down.

He floated upwards then flew over the rooftops towards the airport, dipping down to skim the grass once he passed over the road that separated the city from the airport. Several people stared out their car windows as the green bear flew low to the ground and beside or past their cars. Love Heart finally came to a stop once he was on the sidewalk in front of the airport. He ignored the stares as he strolled in and stood in receiving to wait for his family.

He didn't have to wait long and he spotted them coming down the escalator. Love Heart couldn't contain himself and as Confidence stepped off the escalator and spotted him, Love Heart literally flew through the small crowd and into her arms. "Confidence!"

Confidence Heart caught him with a big grin on her face, "Love Heart!" they kissed.

"Big brother!" Sweet Heart literally flew off the escalator and landed into the hug, "I missed you."

Love Heart wrapped an arm around his sister, "I missed you too."

Life Heart and Sage Heart stepped off the escalator and retrieved their bags while they waited for the three of them to finish, but then Love Heart darted over to and hugged his parents, "Mom, dad, I missed you. Where's Independent bear?"

"He couldn't come with us, he said he'll walk here and meet us in a couple weeks," Life Heart levitated their suitcases onto a trolley.

Sage Heart extracted himself from the hug, "So what has happened this last month?"

Love Heart took a deep breath as they exited the terminal, "A lot. I'll tell you on the way to where I've been staying." Love Heart stopped for a moment as they waited for a Taxi van. "Confidence, how's your arm?"

Confidence grinned and rolled her right arm a couple times, "A lot better, need to limber it up a bit but I'll be fine."

OoOoO

"He was arrested?" Crafty Heart stared at Guidance Heart and Anger Heart. Once they ate the two had decided to visit Defiant's house after the incident with Samantha's father.

Guidance Heart nodded, "We're pressing assault charges, I don't know when the trial is yet." She rubbed her neck again.

Crafty Heart looked down at her knees and tightened her hands into fists, "Good!"

Anger Heart looked over at her then back to Guidance Heart. He sighed, "Do you want to come?"

Crafty didn't change her sitting position, "No. I mean yes! But if Emily or his wife are there they might recognise my voice and that would screw up everything." She sighed then smiled and stood up, "But let's not think about that now."

There was a knocking at the door, followed by the sounds of Defiant grumbling as he answered. The badger was nearly bowled over as a pink pegasus in shorts and a t-shirt flew through the door, "Wow, this place is big!"

"What the?" Defiant turned back to the entrance as the pegasus landed down the hall and Love Heart, Confidence Heart, Sage Heart and Life Heart entered.

Then the entrance hall was crowded as Crafty Heart, Anger Heart and Guidance Heart came to see the commotion. Love Heart was the first to speak, "Hi, this is my family."

Sage Heart managed to pull Defiant Heart Badger and Crafty Heart Coyote aside for a moment, "Hmm…" he looked the two up and down.

Crafty smirked and put her arms behind her head, "Like what you see?"

"I'm more curious. So you two used to be humans?" Sage Heart didn't seem phased by Crafty's attempt at flirtation.

Crafty deflated a little, then nodded, "Yup."

"Yeah. So?" Defiant Heart asked.

"I just wanted to ask you myself, I mean I trust my son but I found that hard to believe even with everything I've seen. Oh sorry, my name is Sage Heart Bear." Sage Heart offered a handshake to both of them.

"And I'm his wife, Life Heart-"

"Unicorn!" Guidance Heart had finally caught sight of the green and silver haired unicorn Care Bear and dashed over to her, "Are you Love Heart's mother? Does that mean he's half-unicorn?"

Life Heart took a step back but nodded, "He is, and so is my daughter."

"Hi, I'm Sweet Heart," the pink pegasus hopped and hovered over to Guidance Heart.

Defiant saw the starry-eyed look in the raccoon's eyes and grimaced slightly, "What's with her?"

Anger Heart carefully guided Guidance Heart away from the entrance hall, "She loves unicorns and I think meeting a real one overloaded her brain."

Confidence Heart got through the group and stretched, "Well that's fun. So why don't we all swap stories."

Defiant Heart groaned, "I can't handle this, this isn't a boarding house!"


	22. Forward Downpour

Chapter 22: Forward Downpour

The judge sat on his bench and read over the reports then looked up at those before him. Samantha's father was still wearing the same clothes he had when he had been arrested, his hands cuffed together and an officer to either side of him. Next to them were Anger Heart and Guidance Heart, wearing a suit and modest dress respectively. Anger Heart kept tugging at his collar as it was hard to breathe with the top button done up.

The courtroom was a small civil room, not one of the big public trial rooms one so often sees on television. The judge read his notes one last time then spoke, "This is a case of unprovoked assault and I sentence the defendant to 18 months in prison."

"But they're monsters! They aren't even human and-"

The judge banged his gavel for silence and glared at the man, "Alex Kitun and Germaine Siedleman are legal citizen of Canada and are thus entitled to the same protection under the law that every other 'human' is entitled to. Case is closed."

Samantha's father was led away, not bothering to struggle in case he was stunned again. His wife glared daggers at Anger Heart and Guidance Heart while Emily tried to reach for her father's hand.

Guidance Heart bowed to the judge, "Thank you."

"Just doing my job. Now I have more cases to hear today so please, leave," he motioned to the exit. The both nodded and turned to leave.

Anger Heart undid the top button of his collar, "At least that's over. How do you feel?"

Guidance sighed as they stepped outside. "Better. I feel sorry for Emily though. I wish Crafty Heart could have been here."

"I am, sort of." They turned to see Crafty Heart approaching them wearing shorts and a t-shirt she'd borrowed from Defiant Heart. "Check it out," she grinned and pulled a white card with a red border from her pocket and a small card that looked like a driver's license, "Official citizen ID Card and Social Insurance Number, as far as anyone's concerned I'm 'Crafty Heart Coyote' under the law."

Guidance Heart smiled and was about to speak when she heard a voice behind her.

"Samantha?" Emily was emerging from the courthouse but hadn't spotted Crafty yet.

Crafty averted her gaze then fell in step with Anger Heart and Guidance Heart as they vacated the vicinity, but Emily spotted them. "Hello, you were Samantha's friends. Do you know where she went?"

Anger Heart growled but Guidance Heart put a hand on his shoulder then nodded to him. Anger Heart sighed and let Guidance Heart speak, "I'm sorry, but we haven't seen Samantha in weeks."

"And what about you? Do you know where she is?" Emily walked around to get a look at Crafty, who averted her gaze.

Crafty deepened her voice and did her best to give it a gravelly sound, "Don't know her."

Emily stared at her, but still was unable to see the coyote's face as she kept it averted, "Oh my, you should take some cough syrup. But still, if you hear anything…"

"We don't know you so if you don't mind, piss off!" Anger Heart grabbed the other two by their arms and all but dragged them away. Emily watched them go then returned to her mother, who had just exited the building.

"What were you doing Emily?"

"I thought I heard Samantha, but I guess I'm just hearing things…" Emily sighed.

"Maybe, but we have more important things to worry about now." She led her daughter to the car and they drove off.

OoOoO

Crafty Heart finally breathed a sigh of relief when she was sitting down with Anger Heart and Guidance Heart in the downtown mall's food court, "That was too close."

"Why are you worried?" Anger Heart sat down with a submarine sandwich, "Even if you sound the same you're a Care Bear, or Care Coyote now."

"It's because of Defiant Heart," Guidance Heart sat down with a plate of noodles and meats from a Chinese restaurant. "Most people know he used to be human so there's a precedent for humans to change into one of us. If they find out she used to be Samantha they might accuse us of kidnapping or worse and those charges might hold."

Crafty nodded, "I'm gonna have to disappear for a while. Emily might be an empty shell but she'll never stop trying to make her parents happy. She'll try to find out more from me if she gets the chance."

Guidance Heart paused with a forkful of food halfway to her mouth, "What are you going to do?"

Crafty folded her arms, "She'll probably come to your house to ask so I can't go there and it's only a matter of time before she comes to Defiant's. I'm going to have to leave town for a while if I get the chance."

OoOoO

Life Heart and Sage Heart stood aside and watched as Love Heart ran Confidence Heart, Crafty Heart, Defiant Heart, Anger Heart and Guidance Heart through their kinetic training, each of whom was conjuring a small field of their particular element: A small orb of compressed air for Confidence, shimmering frost for Crafty, small white flecks for Defiant, fire for Anger Heart and a small ball of yellowish light for Guidance Heart. Sweet Heart stood facing away from the training as she hovered four large blobs of fire, water, earth and a field of lightning in front of her.

"I don't think we realized how much he'd grown over the years," Life Heart rested a hand on her baby bump.

Sage Heart shook his head then smiled, "We didn't, but I'm proud of him. He's taught them so much in such a short period of time." They continued to watch until Defiant Heart broke away from the group and approached Life Heart.

"Is something wrong?" Life Heart asked.

Defiant Heart looked back over his shoulder at Love Heart, who nodded before he returned to his instructions. "This. I don't know what this is," Defiant Heart held up his hands and conjured forth the field of white flecks that always appeared when he tried to shape his element, "it's not ice, that's what Crafty's doing."

Life Heart reached in and carefully plucked one of the flecks from the air. "You're right it isn't. It's bone."

"What?" Defiant's field of bone flecks disappeared as he stared at the unicorn.

"Bone, the base element of the Visceral element. The ability to manipulate the composition of your body and produce biological substance, also called a biokineticist," Life Heart saw Defiant's stressed look, "Are you alright?"

"This is…I mean…what the hell do I even do with this?" Defiant shook his head.

"You can control the form and power of your body, or even grow protrusions of bone to use as weapons," Life Heart said.

Defiant Heart shuddered and gripped his sides, "Urrrg, that's so wrong…"

"Not really, though I do know what you mean," Life Heart put a hand on Defiant's shoulder, "Trust me when I say there's nothing wrong with this."

Defiant Heart took a deep breath, "Alright, I just need time to adjust…"

"Time for some chest symbol training!" Love Heart shouted loud enough for the rest of them to hear.

"Alright, I was waiting for this!" Crafty Heart pulled off her borrowed shirt and pants and kicked the pants some distance away.

"Do you have to do that?" Anger Heart averted his gaze, blushing slightly.

Crafty whirled the shirt overhead and stuck out her tongue at Anger Heart, "Why shouldn't I?"

"I agree," Confidence Heart pulled her shirt off then dropped her shorts, which left her in her underwear, "Why bother with modesty? We've got fur."

Crafty grinned, "Alright, take it off!"

Confidence Heart couldn't help but laugh as she pulled her boxers down then reached behind her, "Like this?" she undid her bra and tossed it aside. She stretched upwards, "Wow, I forgot how good this feels."

"I like it," Love Heart couldn't help but smile.

"Oh you do?" Confidence smirked, "Then why don't you take it off?"

"Yeah, go ahead! Everybody's doing it!" Crafty pumped a fist in the air.

"I'm not…" Guidance Heart blushed and looked away from the three of them.

Love Heart rolled his eyes and pulled off his shirt, he was blushing slightly, "I'll stop here. We should start practice."

Defiant Heart returned to the group, rolling his eyes, "Alright, let's get this over with."

"Can I train too?" Sweet Heart spun around as he elements dissipated behind her, "I need to practise with my chest symbol.

Love Heart smiled and ruffled his sister's hair, "Of course, Sweet Heart." Love Heart's symbol glowed, "Today I'm going to show you how to create items with your chest symbols," one of his swords appeared in his right hand.

Life Heart and Sage Heart had gone inside as their son's lesson continued. "It seems things are going well here," Sage Heart sat down at the dining table.

Life Heart smiled, "They are, ooh!" She placed her hands on her stomach, "They kicked!"

Sage Heart leaned down to feel Life Heart's stomach and felt a little kick, "They did. Four more months."

"Hmm," Life Heart nodded as her gaze drifted downwards.

"What's wrong?" Sage Heart crouched to get a better look into Life Heart's eyes.

"There's one more lost Care Bear. Before we came here I cast the same spell that found our new family member just to make sure they were still here and I found one more to the north-west of here." Life Heart looked up to Sage Heart, "We can't leave them alone."

Sage Heart's eyes softened and he put a hand on Life Heart's shoulder, "Life, I know you want to help them but we don't know what their life is like, for all we know they could have a comfortable life they don't want to leave. What then?"

Life Heart looked up into her mate's eyes, "Then we can leave them, but I at least want to make sure."

Sage Heart smiled and stood up, "Alright. We can leave tomorrow, but first I think I need to get my lovely wife and her children some food." Sage Heart kissed Life Heart on the forehead, which made her giggle as he went to the fridge.

Defiant Heart's fridge had been properly stocked ever since Anger Heart started visiting regularly and Defiant allowed any of his frequent house guests to cook eat whatever they wanted. "The kitchen never get's used anyway so you might as well use it," Defiant had said.

Two hours passed before the rest of the group came inside to see Life Heart sitting and patting her now relatively full stomach. Life Heart smiled at the group, all of whom had finally decided to shed their clothes in the summer heat, which they carried with them.

"Alright everyone, toss those sweaty clothes downstairs and I'll run the washing machine later." Defiant Heart opened the fridge and grabbed a sport's drink from the back, a stockpile he'd bought ever since he started going to the gym. Defiant Heart had actually slimmed down considerably since Love Heart's arrival, his gut had shrunk down to a stouter size and muscles could be seen standing out through his fur.

"Right. Give me an hour and I'll have a meal ready," Anger Heart shoved in next to Defiant Heart, who stepped aside for him, and started pulling food out.

Love Heart sat down at the table next to his parents and swiped his brow, "They're progressing faster than I did, how?"

"Because they're adolescents." Life Heart said.

"Huh? What do you mean, mom?"

Life Heart raised a hand, "Mana and magic development grows faster at the adolescent stage of life as that is when the body is changing the most. Learning as a child takes more effort but it has given you a head start on practise. It will probably take less time for them to reach a level where they can help you fight."

"I see…" Love Heart scratched his chin as Confidence Heart sat next to him, "I told them they should figure out what kind of weapon they want to create for themselves."

"Ow!" Anger Heart winced and his tail twitched as he was chopping vegetables, "Geeze, what is with my tail today?"

"What's wrong with your tail?" Guidance Heart leaned over to try and get a look at the fox's tail.

"It's just been hurting all day, ever since we started our training earlier." Anger Heart grabbed his tail and winced again.

"What kind of pain is it," Life Heart stood up and trotted over to the fox.

"Umm…a sharp constant pain that shoots up when I try to use magic," Anger Heart turned to face Life Heart, "Does that mean something."

"Just let me check," Life Heart swept her magic over Anger Heart, "It's nothing to worry about, you're just becoming a bake-gitsune, a multi tailed fox people often call a kitsune."

"So wait…I'm going to turn into Tails?" Anger Heart twisted his face into an incredulous expression.

Life Heart lifted her gaze back to Anger Heart's, "I can tell you more later, Anger Heart, but the best thing to tell you is that it's going to hurt for a day or two before your tail splits into two, then it will stop hurting. It happens to all foxes at some point as their bodies passively absorb magic from the world around them. You just accelerated your change because you've been learning magic actively."

"Wait, what about me?" Confidence Heart raised a hand.

Life Heart turned around, "It's the same for all foxes, though fennecs are a bit distant from them, but your martial arts training has focused the magic to be mostly locked inside your body as an enhancement to your skill, it won't limit your potential but it's unlikely that you'll gain extra tails unless you focus entirely on your magical training."

"Huh. Well not gonna do that. So what are you two going to do now?" Confidence Heart leaned forwards on the table, her head propped up on her hands.

Life Heart sat back down with Sage Heart, "Sage Heart and I are going to go northwest and see if we can find another lost Care Bear tomorrow."

"We're leaving already? We've only been here ten days!" Sweet Heart jumped up and hovered in place for a moment before she dropped back to the floor with a *clack* of her hooves.

"No, sweetie, just me and mom," Sage Heart crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder, "We're only going away for a few days to see if they want to come with us OK. You can stay here with Love Heart."

Sweet Heart nodded, "OK. Good luck mom," Sweet Heart gave her mom a hug.

"We're leaving tomorrow afternoon, we should be back in a couple days at most," Sage Heart looked up at his son, "In the meantime, keep training and keep an eye out for Indy. He should be here in a couple days."

Love Heart pumped his fist in front of him, "I will."

OoOoO

Life Heart Unicorn wore a pale yellow maternity dress dotted small blue flowers and Sage Heart wore dark jeans and a sky blue button up shirt as they checked out of their hotel and headed for the bus station. Sweet Heart and Love Heart waved goodbye to them as they headed back to Defiant Heart's house.

When they reached the bus station, Sage Heart spotted Crafty Heart in the reflection of the glass. "Crafty," he turned around, "What are you doing here?"

Crafty Heart was wearing an orange t-shirt cut low to show off her cleavage and chest symbol, grey shorts and sandals. She put her hands behind her head, "I'm coming with you."

Life Heart turned around, "Why?"

Crafty Heart and shifted her gaze to the left, "Because I need to get out of town for a couple days. Did Love Heart tell you everything about me?"

Sage Heart nodded, "Yes."

"Well here's a new development, my ex-sister Emily heard me at the courthouse yesterday and now she might guess that I was transformed and there will be hell to pay if she can prove I was," Crafty brought her hands to her side and squeezed them into fists, "She's persistent so I need to disappear for a while until she gives up or has to move on or all of you could be in serious trouble, besides," Crafty walked past and patted Life Heart's pregnant stomach, "You might want some extra help in case things go south."

Life Heart sighed, "Alright. I hoped we could just spend some time alone on this trip."

Crafty Heart sighed and rolled her eyes as she pulled the door open for the couple, "I can sit apart from you on the bus and just hang out nearby. I'm an adult, I can look after myself."

Sage Heart sighed, "Very well. I supposed this isn't a big deal."

"Not like you could stop me from coming anyway," Crafty let the door shut behind her as she entered the bus terminal, "Defiant gave me enough cash to carry me through this."

Crafty sat near the front of the bus and leaned back in her seat and looked out at the sky, which had started to cloud over. She smiled then closed her eyes so she could enjoy the ride in peace.

Life Heart and Sage Heart sat near the back and lifted up the diving armrest so they could lean on each other. They both rested their hands on Life Heart's baby bump and Life Heart closed her eyes to feel the rumbling of the bus underneath her. Sage Heart checked the bag full of snacks that Life Heart would inevitably finish off before the ride was over.

Crafty Heart Coyote had fallen asleep as she listened to the rain on the window, only to be jostled awake as the bus pulled into Saskatoon's bus terminal. She stretched in her seatas the front door opened then stepped out. Crafty stretched again, leaning backwards to pop her stiff back, as she stepped outside then headed into the main terminal.

"I wish I had an umbrella," Life Heart mused as she stared out at the rain. She smiled and conjured up an umbrella from her chest symbol that she held over her head.

Sage Heart created another umbrella from his chest symbol and offered it to Crafty as she rocked on her feet by the exit, "Here."

Crafty looked at the umbrella, then out at the rain, then back to the umbrella and grinned, "Thanks, but nah, I think I'll rough it?" She turned and marched out into the rain which immediately soaked her shirt and shorts through to her fur. She grinned and spun around as the fabric clung to her body, "I've always wanted to do this!" She grabbed her shirt in front of her stomach and pulled it down which formed a solid outline of her breasts through her shirt.

Life Heart held up her umbrella over hers and Sage Heart's head as they watched Crafty dancing in the rain. "I don't understand her," Life Heart said.

Sage Heart shrugged, "Me either. Let's find a hotel first then we can try to find the lost Care Bear."

Crafty slid over to the couple, "Mind if I come with you, just so I know where we're staying?"

Life Heart smiled, "Not at all. Let's go."

OoOoO

Crafty Heart grabbed the third key-card that the hotel receptionist handed out, "I'm gonna head back out, let you two have your alone time. See ya!" Crafty strode back into the rain.

Life Heart and Sage Heart watched her dance in the rain outside, not at all bothered by how wet she was. "Well at least she is letting us enjoy our time." Life Heart put an arm around Sage Heart, "let's get upstairs and dry off."

Sage Heart smiled, "Yes, let's." They kissed.

Their room was on the fifth floor and once they were inside they undressed and grabbed bathroom towels to dry off their legs before they lay down on one of the beds.

"This is nice," Life Heart cuddled up against Sage Heart, "Just the two of us, alone. How long has it been?"

Sage Heart put a hand on her tummy, "18 years."

"We should enjoy this while we can," Life Heart kissed him. "Of course back then we lived in the wilderness. I miss the island."

"I miss it too," Sage Heart leaned his head sideways, "Want to watch something on TV?"

"I would, I don't think we've ever just sat together and watched a movie," Life Heart reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

OoOoO

Crafty Heart didn't really have a destination in mind as she skipped through the rain. Her wet fur didn't deter her whatsoever in fact she relished it; it was a reminder that she had changed! She was different! "I am Crafty Heart Coyote!" She shouted aloud, fists thrust towards the sky. She was enjoying the feeling of her breasts bouncing under her shirt even as they rubbed against the wet fabric. No one really stopped to watch her, those few who were outside mostly ran to get indoors.

Crafty eventually stopped her dance and leaned up against the wall. She swiped the mixture of sweat and rainwater from her forehead, "I wonder where the lost Care Animal is."

"Have you no shame?"

Crafty looked up at an older heavyset woman holding up an oversized umbrella, "Nope, no need for it," she stuck her tongue out at the woman. The women just huffed and strode away. Crafty grinned then put her hands behind her head, "I think that made my day." She focused some of her mana into her mouth and breathed out a mist of frosty air that froze some of the rain into small ice drops that clattered on the ground before they melted.

"Cool," Crafty giggled then stood away from the wall and started to walk down the street again.

The rain still hadn't let up as Crafty reached the edge of downtown and she heard an "Eep!" from nearby.

Crafty paused then turned towards the noise, "huh?" She looked around but didn't find anyone. She spun a bit then leaned back with her hands behind her head, "Do I have a voyeur?" she grinned, "Take it all in if you want." She waited but didn't hear any other noises, then relaxed, shrugged and continued her walk down the street. Three blocks later she heard something through the falling rain down a nearby alley.

"What kinda thing is this?"

"Does every country have freaks like this? I mean I thought that one was the only one back home."

Crafty turned around and approached the alley behind her then peered in. Two young adult men were standing over a large wooden crate with something furry at their feet. Crafty stepped around the corner and saw some sort of animal at their feet. Her previous good mood shattered as she touched her chest symbol and conjured forth a long staff. "Hey boys!" She slammed the end of the staff on the ground next to her feet, "Why don't you leave that poor animal alone and some play with me?"

Both men turned to face her, one grimaced, "And there's another one." Crafty only noticed now that he had a switchblade in his hand.

The other's gaze drifted down to Crafty's chest, "At least this one's hot. Maybe we can have some fun with her first."

Crafty's face turned serious and she gripped her staff in both hands, "Sorry, this is the only fun you're going to have today." She charged and swung her staff at the first man's head. He dodged aside and stabbed at her stomach. Crafty felt the knife strike her but ignored the pain as she swung her staff into his back. The man was sent staggering forwards and let go of his knife, which fell to the ground. The second man grabbed Crafty's wrist but she just kicked him in between the legs and he let go of her with a high pitched whine.

"You bitch!" the first man turned and roughly grabbed Crafty. The grip was somewhat painful but she just glared at him.

"Yes, I am a bitch! Just like you're an ass! Chill!" She breathed out a blast of cold air, the sting made him cry out in pain as ice crystals formed on his face and he let go to wipe them off.

Crafty watched both men retreat shouting dire threats to her, which she ignored as she turned to face the creature they had been tormenting and leaned forwards, "Are you alright?"

There was a small sigh from inside the wooden crate, "I am, th-thank you." The creature emerged from hiding.

Crafty gawked, the creature in front of her was a wolf and creature like her, a Care Wolf if you would. Completely grey save for the top of her tail, muzzle, her chest and stomach. She didn't have any clothes on and looked like she hadn't had a proper meal in ages but not emaciated yet; her chest a bit smaller than Crafty's own but other than that she was skinny, soaked through the fur and shivering. The only notable thing about her was a small shock of hair that was plastered over her right eye.

Without thinking, Crafty dissipated her staff then pulled off her wet t-shirt, "Here, put this on…" She looked down at what looked like a wet rag in her hand, "I guess this would only make things worse.

The wolf just stared back up at her, seemingly in the same awe that Crafty was, "N-no it's nice of you. Who are you?"

Crafty didn't bother to put her shirt back on, "Crafty Heart Coyote. Who were those two?"

"I dunno…they just saw me and chased me in here," the wolf averted her eyes from Crafty.

"Well I'm not gonna leave you out here to freeze, come with me," Crafty smiled and offered a hand to the wolf.

The wolf gave Crafty a worried look then carefully took it. "Don't worry, I don't bite," Crafty pulled her to her feet.

"Are you sure…I mean I don't want to be any trouble." The wolf sneezed the shivered.

Crafty's smile faded into a frown of concern, "No way I'm leaving you out here, come with me." She had to support the wolf as they walked back to the hotel, as she seemed to have trouble with her footing, "What's your name?"

"Holly. You can call me Holly."

OoOoO

Life Heart and Sage Heart were halfway through the animated "Beauty and the Beast", which they had rented from the hotel's video on demand service, when they heard their room's door open. They both turned to see a soaked and shirtless Crafty Heart Coyote supporting and equally saturated and unclothed Care Wolf. Crafty's gave a soft grin, "Hey I think I found her."

"Oh my!" Sage Heart jumped up as Life Heart paused the movie, "Are you alright?" Sage Heart grabbed two towels from the bathroom and handed them to the pair.

Holly took the towel and carefully dried herself off, "Better now, thanks to Crafty."

Crafty dropped her shirt, peeled off her soaked shorts and kicked off her sandals before she grabbed the towel, "Her name's Holly, I found her in an alleyway being harassed by a couple thugs. I fought them off, but not before one of them stabbed me."

"Oh my goodness! Where?!" Life Heart almost sprang up from the bed.

"What do you mean, where, can't you see?" Crafty looked down and finally noticed that she wasn't bleeding. "Right here," she touched where she had been stabbed and winced. No blood but it felt like a bruise.

Life Heart touched the same spot on Crafty Heart, "It's not serious at least. How about you, Holly? How do you feel."

"Warmer now, but hungry." Holly staggered over to the free bed. The wolf looked up at Life Heart, "Are you pregnant?"

Life Heart smiled, "I am."

"Alright, let's order some pizza, and ribs, and salad, and garlic bread, and a lot of it for the starving wolf and the pregnant unicorn!" Crafty was at the phone in an instant with the phone book on the bed.

Holly looked up and saw the horn on Life Heart's forehead, "Unicorn? Oh my…"

Crafty finished the order then plopped down next to Holly, "Don't worry, you're with friends now." She brushed Holly's still wet bangs from her eye.

Holly blushed and brushed the bangs back down before she averted her gaze from Crafty. "Thank you. What are you? What am I?"

Sage Heart sat down again, "That's a long story, but we have time now so I'll explain until the food gets here."

Half-an-hour of explanations later the food arrived, three pizzas, five orders of boneless dry ribs, three salads and six whole garlic loafs. Holly managed to eat a whole pizza herself, two orders of dry ribs, a whole salad and two loaves of garlic bread, literally wolfing down as much as Life Heart did. She only stopped briefly to watch Life Heart eating from one of the boxes of ribs, "Unicorns eat meat?"

Life Heart swallowed then patted her stomach, "Normally no, but I've developed a taste for it since I transformed. Also I've been craving it during this pregnancy."

"Oh, I see." Holly picked up the last piece of her pizza, meat lovers, and devoured it in one bite. She flopped backwards on the bed, feeling a bit sick but fuller than she had in a long time. "Ugg…"

Crafty smirked and prodded her distended stomach, "Maybe not the best first meal, just wait until you get one of Anger Heart's meals, they're much better." Crafty lay back next to the wolf, "So what's your story?"

"Well…" Holly turned her gaze away from Crafty.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Life Heart wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"No, it's just…I can tell you…" Holly took a deep breath, "I grew up in an orphanage…not sure how I got there. The other kids teased me so I just hid a lot. No one wanted to adopt me because…I was a wolf. Last year they kicked me out because I turned 18 so I was too old."

Crafty sat up, "Wow that's…I mean…I thought I had it rough…"

"You did, Crafty, just in a different way," Life Heart turned to Holly, "How long ago was that?"

"Last spring…Winter was hard but I survived, somehow…" Holly rolled her whole body over and groaned, "too much food."

Crafty put a hand on Holly's stomach, "I'm not surprised. You can have the bed tonight. I'll sleep on the floor."

Crafty almost stood up when Holly grabbed her hand, "No, you can sleep here too, I mean you're probably cold…"

Crafty blinked then sat back down, "OK. So did you want to get your Care Bear…Wolf name now?"

"Maybe…what should I choose?" Holly looked up at Crafty.

"That's up to you," Crafty smiled.

"I guess…Hidden, because I hide a lot…" Holly tried to smile but couldn't manage.

"Hidden Heart Wolf then?" Sage Heart asked.

"OK, that sounds good." Holly turned her head back forwards.

"You can wait to decide. You don't need to pick now." Life Heart picked up the now empty food boxes then used a spell to shrink them down so they would fit in the small hotel garbage can, at least until it was tied up and in a dumpster in a few hours where they would re-expand.

"No, it's suits me. Please," Holly rolled back onto her back.

"Alright, just hold still." Sage Heart's chest symbol glowed and fired off a replica of his symbol that floated up and around Holly until it landed on her chest. She felt a tingle as the glow faded to reveal her chest symbol: a red heart half-hidden behind a yellow brick wall.

Crafty grinned, "Welcome to the Care Bear Magi, Hidden Heart Wolf."

Hidden Heart blushed and rolled over, "Thank you, Crafty."


	23. Wild Days

Chapter 23: Wild Days

Crafty Heart Coyote whistled as she stepped out of the elevator and made her way to the hotel's small gym. She grinned as she saw the looks everyone gave her, after all she wasn't wearing any clothes save for a sweatband around her forehead. One looked like she was about to admonish her but Crafty just stuck out her tongue and set the weight on the bench press to where she had tried the last time she was in school and lay down.

"Alright, here goes." She pressed up and nearly flung the bar from her hands. "Whoa!" She kept the bar steady and sat up. She flexed her left arm and felt her bicep, then grinned, "I didn't think I was _that_ strong now. Alright let's take it up a notch!" She was drawing attention from the three other people in the gym but that didn't bother her as she doubled the weight on the press then lay back down. This time there was a lot more resistance and Crafty grunted as she pressed up on the bar. "Oh yeah! That's the burn!" She grinned and stopped at ten reps, then let her arms hang down as she panted, sweat beaded across her fur. 90 seconds later she started another set.

Crafty stopped after four sets and sat up on the bench, panting hard. "Whew! Damn, did not expect that to be so exhausting."

"Are you alright?" Hidden Heart Wolf had entered the gym while Crafty stood up.

Crafty grinned, "I'm fine, just a bit sore. Hold on a sec."

Hidden watched as Crafty retrieved a paper towel from a dispenser and sprayed cleaning solution on it then wiped down the sweaty bench. Hidden blushed as Crafty bent over which gave her an eyeful of the coyote's cleavage.

Crafty took notice and smirked as she finished. "We're gonna be here for a couple days. I think we should give Sage Heart and Life Heart some time alone. So what do you want to do?"

"Well…" Hidden fidgeted with her hands and feet, "We could go out on the town."

Crafty perked up and smirked again, "Oh, are you asking me on a date?"

"WHAT?! Nonononono!" Hidden Heart waved her hands in front of her as she blushed bright red, her eyes went wide and she leaned back away from Crafty.

"Whoa, what?" Crafty's face softened, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes! I mean no! Just…" Hidden Heart looked at the humans around them who had all stopped to watch the two.

Crafty's eyes narrowed and she smirked, "Let's go somewhere less public, plus I need to shower."

Hidden Heart nodded vigorously and all but ran to the elevator with Crafty right behind her. Hidden Heart had to avert her gaze from Crafty Heart on the ride up as the coyote leaned up against the elevator's wall, sweaty and panting.

Life Heart Unicorn and Sage Heart Bear were snuggled up together on the bed when their room door opened, "Hey just taking a shower, don't mind us!" Crafty Heart dragged Hidden Heart right into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Life Heart and Sage Heart only spared them a glance but decided to leave the two to their own devices.

Hidden Heart's face was beet red as Crafty shut the bathroom door behind her and turned on the shower. Once she tested the water to make sure it was warm she stood aside. "Alright, get in."

Hidden Heart's eyes went wide as her tail swung back and forth, "With you?! I mean, I Don't need it!"

Crafty rolled her eyes, "You do. I stink from exercise and I'm guessing you haven't had a real shower in over a year. You stink."

Hidden Heart sniffed a bit, wrinkled her nose then lifted an arm to smell herself and recoiled. "OK, but do we have to do it together?"

"I don't wanna take up the bathroom any longer than we have to, besides you should get a proper scrub down," Crafty waggled her eyebrows.

Hidden Heart was unable to suppress her blush but she nodded and stepped in. The warm water cascaded almost instantly relaxed the wolf and she sighed as Crafty stepped in behind her and closed the shower curtain.

"A bit cramped but not bad." She grabbed the small shampoo bottle and sighed, "Barely enough for us but I'll have to do." She squeezed some onto her hand then passed it to Hidden, "Here, we can do each other's backs and tails when we're done.

"O-OK." Hidden Heart faced the wall as she scrubbed herself down. She forgot her embarrassment as she scrubbed away months of dirt, grime and possibly parasites she wasn't aware of. The shampoo felt soooooo goooooood! She scrubbed so long that she didn't notice when Crafty Heart spoke again.

"OK, I'm gonna do your back and tail. Let me know if I pull too hard." Crafty started to scrub the wolf's back, "Yeesh, you've got a lot of gunk back here." She scrubbed then grabbed her tail. Hidden flinched but didn't pull away as Crafty scrubbed her tail, "how many mud puddles have you slept in?"

"I dunno, not on purpose, urf!" Hidden Heart winced as Crafty pulled a small chunk of dirt out of her fur, "Sometimes I wake up in one when it's raining."

"Not a big surprise. Almost done." Crafty finished scrubbing Hidden Heart's tail and let go, "Alright, finish up your legs and feet then you can do my back."

Crafty Heart turned around as Hidden Heart lifted scrubbed her legs down then under her feet. Both of them had pads on the bottom of their feet, not as thick or prominent as a real wolf's or coyote's but enough that it gave them extra protection and grip on ground and gave them more distinctive footprints; every non-hooved Care Animal was the same way.

Hidden Heart finally finished then turned around, relieved that she was staring at Crafty's back and tail. She hesitated slightly then squeezed more shampoo out and scrubbed Crafty's tail. Crafty sighed contentedly as she felt the wolf scrubbing her tail and closer her eyes as she moved up to her back.

Hidden Heart adjusted her footing as she scrubbed up to Crafty's shoulder blades and accidentally stepped off the bath mat. She slipped and her hands slid across Crafty's sides and around her front. Hidden Heart grabbed for something to keep her stable, which made Crafty gasp. They both stood and just let the shower cascade over them.

"Hidden, are you alright?"

"I…yes…just slipped…while I was…washing your back."

"Those aren't on my back."

"I know, Crafty…sorry."

"…You're still holding them."

"I…I…"

"Do you like girls?"

"What!? I mean…I…"

"It's fine. We're alone here."

"… … … Yes…I like girls…"

"I see…"

"You hate me…"

"No…I don't." Crafty finally turned around which forced Hidden Heart to release her hold as they face each other. Hidden Heart averted her gaze, her cheeks burned bright red as she averted her eyes from the wet coyote. Crafty managed a smile, "So do you find me attractive? Be honest, I won't be offended."

"You're very attractive…and…se….se…"

Crafty leaned in to try and look into the wolf's eyes, "Go on, please."

"Sexy," Hidden Heart turned then her eyes and mouth opened wide as her blush intensified. "I…I can see…!"

Crafty had stood back and had her arms folded under her breasts. She looked down then looked back and up and smiled, "It's an odd feature we have called a 'modesty field'. Turns out it shuts off when we're in a situation like this. Maybe that's why I can see you blushing through your fur too."

Hidden Heart turned away from Crafty Heart, her face burning red. Crafty put a hand on her shoulder, "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"It's not…I mean…" Hidden Heart Wolf gulped but stayed facing away from her. "You're the first person who hasn't teased me or called me a freak because I like girls."

Crafty snorted, "For being a lesbian and not a wolf?"

They were interrupted by a knock on the bathroom door and they heard Life Heart's voice over the shower. "Are you almost done. I really need to use the bathroom!"

"Let's talk outside." Crafty shut the water off the shook herself to dry off. She stepped out to let Hidden Heart do the same and they quickly vacated the bathroom as Life Heart darted in behind them. Crafty only stopped to grab her wallet before they left.

Hidden Heart was still blushing despite the modesty field "reactivating" in between their shower and when they stepped outside. Everyone was staring at them as they passed and Hidden Heart finally spoke up, "Should we be naked out here?"

Crafty gave a single laugh then stuck out her tongue and leaned her head back with her hands behind her head, "Nah, they can't see anything. Besides my clothes are still soaked and you don't have any. Doesn't it feel nice being outside now that you're clean?" Crafty turned sideways and took a good look at Hidden Heart.

Now that the wolf was clean her grey fur almost glistened in the sunlight, no longer sticking out at odd angles from months of poor hygiene and it almost seemed silvery. Her now clear brown eyes still seemed to dart around to each citizen who gave them a funny look. Crafty smiled as Hidden Heart turned to her, which let her see her new chest symbol. She looked a bit better but one meal of greasy junk food wasn't going to change how skinny she was overnight.

"So how do you feel now, Hidden Heart Wolf?" Crafty asked.

Hidden Heart's blush had finally faded as she looked around, "Better, clean. It's nice out today. It's odd hearing you call me that."

"Would you prefer, Holly?"

Hidden Heart shook her head, "No… I mean…Hidden Heart's nice, it feels more like who I am." She turned to Crafty as they stopped at a crosswalk, "so can you tell me more about this whole Care Bear Magi thing you mentioned last night."

"I still think it's weird we say 'Care Bear' when only two of us are bears. I guess because it rhymes," Crafty mused as the crosswalk changed to 'walk'. "Sure I'll tell you, but let's get some lunch first, OK?" She pointed to a sub-sandwich store half a block ahead.

Hidden Heart appreciated the meat and vegetable filled foot-long sandwich far more than the greasy food from the previous night, literally wolfing it down in under two minutes. Crafty just smirked as she ate more slowly. "Tasty?"

Hidden Heat nodded and wiped the mustard away from her mouth, "Yes but…where did your wallet go?"

"In here," Crafty reached into her chest symbol, her hand passing right through it and seemingly inside her body, then she pulled it out with the wallet, "Neat trick Love Heart taught me." She stowed it away again and saw Hidden Heart blush.

"It's looks like you're stuffing it in…"

"My cleavage?" Crafty laughed, "I know, call it a fringe benefit. Now how about I tell you everything about this wonderful little group you've joined?" Crafty held up a hand and showed a small shimmering field of frost, she grinned, "Cool right?" She giggled.

Hidden Heart just stared as Crafty continued, "We can use magic, we'll teach you that later. Apparently we're supposed to protect this 'Care Bear Family' once we find them. Other than that I'm not to clear on what we're supposed to be doing other than learning magic."

"Can you teach me?" Hidden Heart asked, her eyes shining.

Crafty sighed and let the frost disperse, "Sorry, I'm just starting. Love Heart or his parents can teach you." She smiled and stood up, "Wanna head out again?"

Hidden Heart nodded then got up and followed after Crafty.

The sun was high overhead as Hidden and Crafty walked side-by-side down the street, still drawing attention from everyone around them. Hidden Heart practically shrunk into herself when one particularly nosy lady walked up to them.

"Excuse me, but why are you two walking around like that?"

Hidden Heart shrunk back and Crafty just scowled at her, "Do you mean wearing fur or naked? These aren't costumes, lady, and you can't see anything so fuck off!" She pushed past the lady who just stared slack-jawed as Hidden Heart slid past her.

Crafty Heart laughed aloud as Hidden Heart caught up with her, and even giggled slightly, "That was…thank you."

"No problem," Crafty put an arm around Hidden's shoulder which made her blush, "My advice: don't take crap from people about the whole 'nothing but fur' thing. Just walk away and don't take them seriously." She saw Hidden's red face and withdrew her arm, "You alright?"

"Yes." Hidden Heart looked up and spotted a large open-front book store built into the buildings on the right, "Look!" She seemed excited for the first time since they me the previous day. She charged into the store which left Crafty to try and catch up. Hidden Heart seemed to be all over the store, digging around the fantasy and graphic novels mostly. Crafty just smiled and scanned through the volumes, trying to find something that appealed to her.

Crafty Heart was browsing through a thick graphic novel called _BONE_ When she looked up to see Hidden Heart frozen as she stared at a collection of children's books, a pained scowl on her face. Concerned, Crafty went over to Hidden Heart and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Those." Hidden Heart pointed at three books on top of piles that had been placed next to each other: _The Three Little Pigs_ , _Little Red Riding Hood_ and _Peter and the Wolf_. Hidden Heart Wolf's hands balled into fists as she stared daggers at the children's stories in front of her, "I hate those stories. They used to read them at the orphanage during story time and then everyone else would look at me as if I was going to eat them, or run away screaming when I tried to talk to them. The caretakers tried to stop the kids but every now and then they would read the stories again, because there weren't many others, but still…" Hidden Heart hugged herself tightly, "I'm not a big bad wolf, I'm just a small, scared, lonely wolf."

Crafty patted her friend on the back, unsure what to say. She was familiar with those stories, even she had been read those stories once upon a time. But now…

Crafty Heart searched the books, hoping she'd see something to diffuse the situation. And then she spotted a book with its title half-covered by surrounding books. She left Hidden Heart, who was trembling, and grabbed the book to pull it out and expose it. She grinned then turned around and pushed the book in front of Hidden Heart, blocking her view of the offending children's tales. "Here, try this one!"

Hidden Heart stopped shaking and took the book in both hands as she read the title. " _The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig_?" She looked up at Crafty.

Crafty was still grinning as she responded, "It sounded like a fun twist. Wanna get it?"

Hidden Heart looked back at the book, then nodded and held it close like a stuffed toy "Yes! Please!" Crafty smiled and paid the teller for the book, even as Hidden Heart had opened the book and started to read.

As expected for a children's book, Hidden Heart had finished reading before they reached the end of the block. She hugged the book to herself and turned to Crafty as they reached the crosswalk, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She leaned in and gave Crafty a kiss on the cheek, then recoiled as she started blushing. "Oh my! I'm sorry I…!"

"It's fine," Crafty touched her cheek where Hidden Heart had kissed her then smiled, "You're welcome."

"N-no, I mean we just met and…I don't even know how…you…swing…" She averted her gaze from Crafty.

Crafty Heart touched her shoulder and motioned for her to cross. As they crossed, Craty leaned over and whispered, "I swing any way I want."

Hidden Heart's face turned red but she smiled as the reached the other side of the crosswalk.

OoOoO

Love Heart Bear lay back on the grass, feeling it mesh with his fur as he let the summer sun radiate down on him. He sighed contentedly and looked to his side where Confidence Heart lay in a more sprawled out position than he had.

It had been Love Heart's idea for all of them to go to Wascana Park for the day in lieu of more training, just to hang out, relax, and run around all without clothes (though each of them had a set stored in their tummy symbols in case they were forced to wear them). Ever since he came to Regina with only one set of clothes, Love Heart had been getting more and more used to the idea of wearing nothing but his fur, especially in the summer heat.

Sweet Heart was flying over the park just to have fun while Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart sat nearby on the opposite side of the lake with Brandon and Caleb. Love Heart was just happy to have some time alone with Confidence Heart. He rolled sideways and put an arm across her chest.

Confidence Heart chuckled, "Still feeling frisky after this morning?"

"A bit," Love Heart leaned over and kissed her, "I mean we're out in public without clothes…"

Confidence Heart laughed and playfully shoved Love Heart away before she rolled on top of him. "Are you sure you want to risk that out here?"

"Who knows, I'm feeling really good." Love Heart reached up and pulled Confidence Heart into a kiss. Confidence wrapped her arms around him as they pulled closer together.

Confidence's eyes shot open wide as she pulled back from Love Heart, "Oh shit I forgot about Passion Heart!" She rolled off of Love Heart.

Love Heart tensed up, "That wolverine who nearly killed you back home? What about him?"

Confidence Heart sat up, supporting herself with her arms behind her, "He escaped. Julian told me when he brought us our passports. I was going to tell you when we got here but then I saw you and," she gave a slight smile, "that was all that mattered." She shook her head violently to get herself back on topic, "But that's not important. Julian said it happened the day after we left to wait for the passports. Passion Heart was being kept in a secure hospital room where criminals who need serious medical attention are kept. Someone forced the window bars open to rescue him and the police standing guard were all dead, impaled by spikes of black ice that didn't melt for over a day."

"Black ice?" Love Heart sat up, "Is that everything."

Confidence Heart nodded, "That's all."

Love Heart leaned forwards, brought his knees up to his chest and cross his arms to rest on top of his knees. "Indy should be here any day and Mom and Dad should be back with Crafty and whoever they found by tomorrow. Once they show up we need to get moving again."

"I'm sorry, but you won't be leaving here except with us."

Love Heart and Confidence Hearts eye shot wide as they jumped up and whirled around to face where the voice had come from. Four Care Animals were standing there: A brown spotted lynx with green eyes wearing a loose long sleeved green shirt and brown sweat pants and a relaxed look on her face and a visible chest symbol of a heart shaped pond surrounded by trees, a dark blue otter with blue eyes in nothing but his fur whose chest symbol was a wave crashing against a coast and a fierce look in his eyes, a pale pink female bear with a look of semi-revulsion in her blue eyes who was also unclothed and a heart-shaped forest for a chest symbol.

Lastly was the bear who had spoken: a yellow bear with blue eyes wearing a white shirt, black pants and a black longcoat and barely visible chest symbol: a flash of light. Love Heart also noticed that while their noses were heart shaped, the hearts were narrower with sharper tips, almost like a very thick and sharp V was stuck to their noses.

Love Heart immediately conjured a sword into his hand which set the four of them on guard. "Who are you?!"

The yellow bear grinned, "My name is Flash Heart Bear and I'd like all of you to come with me."

Confidence Heart dropped into a ready fighting stance, "Or what? You'll kill us!"

"I hope it doesn't come to that, but If I need to I will." Flash Heart held out his hand and a sword made of yellow light appeared in his hand.

Confidence Heart grinned, "Hah! Fat chance. I'm ready for anything after that wolverine."

"You're the one who nearly killed Passion Heart!" the otter bared his teeth as his face twisted into one of rage, "You bitch!" Water formed under the otter's feet and carried him forwards until he cannoned into Confidence Heart and pushed her away as the water carried them forwards.

"Marine Heart!" The pink bear was about to run after the two when Flash Heart held out a hand to stop her.

"Let him handle it, he needs to release his frustration." He pointed across the lake, "Take care of those three, try to tie them up and knock them out," he glared at Love Heart, "Calm Heart and I will take care of Love Heart."

Flora Bear watched as Marine Heart slid to a stop as he and Confidence began their fight, then nodded. "Alright, good luck." She turned and took off around the lake.

Love Heart had conjured a second sword while Flash Heart was talking and both crackled with blue lightning, "Just try it! We can handle anything you can dish out."

"I'm sorry, but please just surrender so we can keep you from getting hurt." Calm Heart Lynx drew a metal mace from her chest symbol as her fur took on an earthy texture, "I don't want to hurt you if I can avoid it."

A rock suddenly flew past Love Heart's head from behind and smashed into Calm Heart's chest, which sent her reeling backwards as the earthen barrier around the impact spot cracked.

"I hope you don't mind if I join in."

Love Heart looked over his shoulder to see Independent Bear approaching from behind, wearing nothing except his own black two-tailed coat. "Sorry I took so long, but I felt the aether becoming agitated around here." He glared at Flash Heart and Calm Heart, the latter of whom was recovering from the rock he'd launched at her, "Mind if I handle the cat?" he asked as his chest symbol glowed and a katana appeared in his left hand.

"Go ahead. I can take Flash Heart," Love Heart bared his teeth.

Flash Heart was about to say something when Indy suddenly launched himself forwards and struck at Calm Heart, his sword fracturing more of the earthen shell on her body before he reached his hand behind him with his free right hand and grabbed at the air, aether strings appeared from thin air around Calm Heart like a net and Indy swung with all his might and threw her some distance away.

Most of the humans in the park were scattering as the fights broke out and Love Heart faced down Flash Heart. Love Heart took a deep breath as his symbol and forehead star glowed. There was a flash of white light and suddenly he was dressed in his clothes: a grey t-shirt, a brown army cargo vest and beige cargo shorts. He held up both of his swords and charged them with lightning and gave Flash Heart Bear a death glare. Flash Heart created a bright glowing light in his left hand and gave a cocky smile as he pointed his light sword right at Love Heart.

"Unexpected, but I will still win."

Love Heart bared his teeth, "Over my dead body!" Then he charged.


	24. Four on One

Chapter 24: Four on One

It took Brandon all morning to finally ask Anger Heart what was on his mind. "Alex, when did you grow a second tail?"

Anger Heart looked back over his shoulder where there was a second tail swishing next to his original. He sighed, "Life Heart said it's something that happens to foxes when we learn enough magic. She said it means I'm a 'kitsune', multi-tailed magical fox."

Guidance Heart grinned and gave Anger Heart a kiss, "I think it's wonderful. You're a real magical being just like in fairy tails."

Caleb averted his gaze from the two of them. He tried to be understanding but seeing his two friends without clothes on and being affectionate was still a bit…off-putting even if their fur and magic kept their appearance from being inappropriate. Defiant Heart leaned up against a tree and rolled his eyes.

When they had arrived at the park the five of them had split off from Love Heart, Confidence Heat and Sweet Heart. They knew they would have to leave soon so they wanted to spend some time together to relax and reminisce about old times, some of which were spent here in the thin woods near the lake. Defiant Heart stayed nearby but didn't jump into the conversation. Though he was hanging out with them the badger still wasn't really their friend. Too many years of bad blood as it were.

Brandon shielded his eyes from the sun with his left hand and stared across the lake, "What's going on over there?" He pointed with his right index finger.

Four new people had joined Love Heart and Confidence Heart. The rest of them turned to watch, until they saw the blue one crash into Confidence Heart and carry her away.

"What the hell!" Anger Heart bristled.

"What's going on over there?" Defiant Heart squinted then his eyes widened as another figure joined the group and more fighting broke out.

"Let's get over there!" Anger Heart smacked his right fist into his other hand then took off around the lake. And then smacked right into a wall of trees that sprang up out of the ground.

"You're not going to help them." The voice came from an unclothed pale pink female bear riding towards them on an extending tree trunk that grew over the lake. She had a heart-shaped forest for chest symbol and long eyelashes that shadowed blue eyes that had the fierceness of chipped ice. She stepped onto the shore as the tree bridge behind her dissolved into nothing then folded her arms under her moderately sized breasts and stared at them. "I won't mince words: I'm taking you with me whether you like it or not."

"Yeah, how about no." Defiant Heart stepped forwards as Anger Heart just growled at her.

Guidance was the only one who managed to keep a level head, "Who are you?"

"My name is Flora Bear and I'm not wasting any time. Binding Vines!" Flora raised her right hand and snapped her fingers. Vines suddenly erupted from the ground at her feet and shot out to wrap around Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart and bind them tight. All three magi fell to the ground, their arms and legs pinned in place by the tight vines. Flora turned to Brandon and Caleb, who still stood nearby, "I'm giving you two one chance to walk away, to spare your friends having to see your death. Take advantage of this because I do not grant mercy to humans so easily."

Brandon ad Caleb were frozen to the spot, torn between their fear for their lives and a desire to stay and help their friends. Flora sighed and stepped towards them with her hand outstretched as shards of wood materialized in the air around her arm.

"ERRRRAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Flora's attention was drawn by Anger's cry of rage as his body set alight, burning away the vines around him. Before Flora could react he formed a jet of fire between his index and middle fingers and sliced through the vines that had Guidance and Defiant pinned down.

"Ow," Defiant winced as he felt some of his fur get singed as he stood up.

Anger Heart checked Guidance, "Are you OK?"

"I'll be fine, look out!" Guidance dove as several shards of wood launched towards them.

Anger Heart barely managed to avoid getting hit then turned to face Flora, his twin tails swishing agitatedly as he created an orb of fire on each hand. "Alright, payback time!"

Flora scowled, "Are you going to burn me and risk setting fire to the rest of the park? You're just as bad as these humans."

Anger Heart froze his hand that he had been about use to cast a fireball at her. He growled then let his fire dissipate. She had a point, he couldn't risk starting a fire in the park.

"So you're not beyond hope then." Flora tossed her short hair behind her head as her skin and fur took on a tree bark-like texture, "Even if you were that reckless you three are all novices with kinetics. Now are you going to make this difficult or am I going to have to knock you out and-"

"AIYAAAAA!" *CLONK*

A pink blur dove out of the sky as Sweet Heart Pegasus dropped onto Flora with a double-hooved kick to her head. Flora's bark-like armor thankfully protected her from a concussion but she was still sent flying two meters away and to the ground as Sweet Heart flapped her wings to halt her momentum and land where Flora had been standing a moment ago.

"Sorry I took so long." Sweet Heart panted slightly as she faced down Flora.

Flora stood back up, the bark-like texture around her face having splintered from the impact of Sweet Heart's hooves. Her gaze turned fierce as she turned to face Sweet Heart, "I didn't think you would get involved. Aren't you going to help Love Heart?"

Sweet Heart grinned, "Nah, my big brother can handle himself. These guys need my help more."

"Hey!" Anger Heart stomped his foot.

"She's not wrong," Guidance Heart averted her gaze.

Defiant Heart just sighed.

"I see. But what can you hope to do against me?" Flora held up a hand as a flurry of flower petals spun around above her hand.

"Lots!" Sweet Heart held up her hands as six elemental orbs orbited above her: fire, water, cold, earth, wind and lightning.

Flora blinked, "So you're indecisive with your element. This won't take long." She shot her hand forwards as a flurry of sparkling flower petals shot forwards at high speed. Sweet Heart suddenly regained her composure just in time to receive the full force of the blast that sent her flying and shot pain through her body. Flora didn't waste any time and fired off a wave of sharp wooden spears at her but now Sweet Heart was paying attention and flew upwards and over the wave.

Sweet Heart landed on the ground and shot a torrent of water towards Flora that pushed the pink bear back. "OK, remember what mom and dad said," Sweet Heart clapped her hands together in front of her as her skin and fur took on a rocky texture and icy armor appeared on her body, just in time as another shower of wooden stakes peppered her which snapped and shattered on her new defenses.

Flora bared her teeth then took a deep breath, "So you're not a novice, very well I will take you seriously! Vine Throw!" She raised her hand as several more vines shot out of the ground and grabbed Sweet Heart by the feet. The pegasus was swung up and then smashed into the ground as the vines vanished. Sweet Heart used a burst of air to get back on her feet then shot out a stream of cold air towards Flora, which created several ice crystals on her body. Sweet Heart followed up with several rocks she fired from her hands, pounding on Floras body repeatedly until the bear put up a wall of trees to deflect them.

Sweet Heart took off into the sky with her wings and over the trees and fired off a blast of air towards Flora, who managed to dodge aside then sent another torrent of glowing flower petals at Sweet Heart that knocked her from the sky and made her hit the ground hard.

Flora was panting as she lowered her tree barricade, "I'm impressed that someone so young can do this."

Sweet Heart pushed herself to her feet, her icy armor having fragmented and her rocky shell cracked in several places, "My parents taught me since I was six…or was it five." She shook her head to clear it, "Not important! Yah!" She conjured a ball of fire in her right hand.

Flora glared as her as she conjured several more wooden stakes, "You would set fire to this place to defeat me?"

"Nope!" Sweet Heart conjured an orb of water on her left hand, "Take this! Steam Blast!" She brought her hands together instantly vaporising the water into a cloud of super hot steam that fired at Flora. Flora barely had time to fire off her wooden stakes before the stream struck her. She screamed as she felt the boiling hot vapors scalding her body. She got some satisfaction when she saw Sweet Heart get struck in the stomach and shoulder by two of the stakes, which dissolved after hitting her.

"Enough games! You'll feel the wrath of nature!" A vine shot up and wrapped around Sweet Heart's middle, not enough to constrict but contacting her hardened skin caused Sweet Heart to cry out as she felt her body start to itch. "Poison Ivy." Flora marched towards Sweet Heart, "The plant kingdom has many different toxins and defenses people can't even dream of, so what do they do? Chop them down! Burn the up! And plunder the special ones for themselves! Rafflesia!" She stomped her foot and a massive red flower sprouted from the ground. Sweet Heart and the five observers were forced to cover their noses as the stench of rotting flesh assaulted their nostrils.

Flora kept her up march, "I know more about plants than almost anyone on this planet. Don't worry, I'll leave the deadly ones away but you'll still feel the sting! Venom Blade!" She created a wooden dagger with a sharp green tip in her hand and raised it to stab into Sweet Heart. Sweet Heart just barely dodged aside and kicked out, her hard hoof connecting with Flora's knee. Flora cried out in pain then rounded on sweet heart, forming a wooden spear in her hand she jabbed it at Sweet Heart repeatedly, striking her several good blows most of which were absorbed by her rocky shell or deflected by her icy armor.

Sweet Heart finally regained her composure and created fields of lightning around her hands which she struck out at Flora with. Most of her punches missed or were deflected by Flora's spear but one struck home and Sweet Heart immediately followed it up with a jumping kick to Flora's chin.

Flora felt her teeth crash together painfully and she growled, conjuring an aura of verdant pink and green energy around her spear before she resumed her assault. Sweet Heart jumped up and flapped her wings to get out of Flora's range but Flora just threw the spear up and struck one of Sweet Heart's wings. Sweet Heart cried out and was forced to land as Flora approached with a wooden club in hand. "Stay down!" She brought the club crashing down on Sweet Heart's head. Stars exploded in Sweet Heart's vision but she swept her hoof at Flora's leg and knocked her down. Sweet Heart felt some feeling go back into her wing and she flapped up and away from Flora as her vision cleared. She saw Flora get up and shot a blast of cold air at her, which froze to her fur.

Flora shook off the cold and shot her hand out "Impaling Tree!", a long spike of wood lanced out and tried to impale Sweet Heart, who just barely dodged aside. "Alright, taste this!" She conjured a ball of earth then soaked it into a massive mud ball, "Mudslide barrage!" the ball shattered into a dozen smaller mud balls that flew at Flora. She was stunned as the mud balls pelted her with incredible force, knocking her back two meters before the barrage finally ceased.

Flora wiped the mud from her face, her wooden armor splintered in several places as she felt bruises starting to form on her body. "Enough of this! Vine Torrent!" She swung her arms out and pulled up a massive wave of green vines, "If I must I'll smother you!" The vines all fired forwards. Sweet Heart had no choice but to try and fly on her injured wing as the vines converged, jumping around and gaining some air tie with a few flaps as the vines chased her all around the thin treeline.

By now most of the public had fled but Sweet Heart caught sight of what looked like a news crew recording her fight. She did her best to ignore them as she jumped around, trying to find an opening. Twice she shot fire or cold at the vines and while it slowed or burned away some of them it was too little to stop the onslaught.

Flora grinned as she conducted her swarms of vines like an orchestra with one arm then fired off several razor sharp pink petals towards Sweet Heart. Several of them struck home, piercing through her armor and hardened skin and leaving the pegasus with several small cuts. Flora was panting but she grinned, "Just give up!"

"No you give up!" *CLUNK*

"Back off!" *CLONK*

Anger Heart Fox and Defiant Heart badger had charged in to try and stop Flora. Anger Heart had a sai in each hand, one of which was slammed into Flora's stomach and Defiant Heart had a spear with a wide, elaborate blade he had brought down on Flora's shoulder. Both attacks had been stopped by Flora's bark-like skin and fur, leaving only shallow dents.

Flora glared at Anger Heart in front of her then Defiant Heart over her shoulder, "Is this really the best you can do?"

"Not by a kilometer!" Defiant raised his left hand as the skin parted and what looked like a spike made of bone emerged.

Flora grimaced then tried to dodge as the spike shot out and embedded itself in her shoulder. "Biokinetics!" She turned to kick out at Defiant, who dodged aside and shot another bone spike out at her, which missed. "I can't imagine what kind of pain that leaves you in!"

"Less than you'd think, it's more gross than painful," Defiant charged and jabbed with his lance, which Flora deflected. Anger Heart came in swinging and tried to jab her with his sai again, only for Flora to shoot out a small tree trunk into the fox's stomach, completely winding him.

All of a sudden, Guidance Heart appeared out of thin in front of her and showed a small ball of light in her face, "Blinding Flash!" The light ball burst and Flora scream out, hands shooting to her eyes as everything became white.

"Auuugh! My eyes!" Flora's hands shot to her eyes. The blindness only lasted for a moment and her vision cleared right as Defiant tried to stab his spear through her.

*CLONK*

The spear stuck in Flora's bark shell and now that her sight was back she just glared at Defiant Heart. "You're too weak." She conjured a wooden staff surrounded in verdant glowing flower petals and smacked Defiant Heart away with it. She watched as his spear dissolved into nothing then whirled around to where Anger Heart was about to strike him with his sai and smacked him over the head with her staff. She felt a sharp pain in her back as Defiant Heart shot another bone spike into her shoulder blade and whirled around in time for Guidance Heart to shoot off a bright laser beam straight into her chest, that only impacted her bark armor.

"Enough!" Flora changed the staff into a whip made of vines and swung it out, striking both Defiant Heart and Guidance Heart and knocking them to the ground. "This barely qualifies as a distraction."

Defiant Heart winced then grinned from where he lay on the ground, "That was kinda the point."

"What?" Flora just stared at him, and then finally noticed the whirring and crackling sound in the air behind her and spun around to see Sweet Heart.

Sweet Heart had her arms held forwards next to a large chunk of rock that floated inside a sphere of air in front of her as four orbs of magical energy orbited it, Lightning, Fire, Water and Cold. With a visible effort, Sweet Heart fused the orbs into the floating air and earth orb in front of her, forming a ball of boiling mud surrounded by an aura of electrified cold. Flora Bear tried to react but she was too late. "HEXA FUSION BLAST!" The ball fired off and Flora raised a wall of trees to block it, but the ball of elements shattered the barrier and cannoned into her.

"YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGG!" Her body boiled and froze at the same time as the heavy mud and water buffeted and bruised her body as she was electrocuted and raised up into the air. The elements finally dissipated and Flora fell to the group with a *whump* where she lay stunned.

Sweet Heart was panting as sweat dampened her fur all over, "Whew!" She wiped her forehead, "Keeping those six elements together really take it out of me." She walked over to Flora and looked down at her. "Are you alive?"

"Barely," Flora glared up at Sweet Heart, "Now what will you do?"

Sweet Heart had to think for a minute before she answered, "Wait for mom and dad to get back, or at least for everyone else to win their fights then we can decide what to do."

Flora chuckled then winced, "Heheh, ow! Your father isn't going to get back here. We sent someone to intercept him on the road and capture him while we took care of all of you."

Sweet Heart took a deep breath then sat down hard, "Dad can handle it, I hope…I just need to rest for now."

"In the meantime, don't try anything," Anger Heart growled. Defiant Heart walked over to her and stuck a new spear he had created in the ground next to her head.

Flora just glared from her eyes, "Be more worried about what will happen to you when my friends are done with yours.

 _Battle in the Park Woods_

 _Winner:_

 _ **Sweet Heart Pegasus**_

OoOoO

Sage Heart and Life Heart sat side-by-side with Crafty Heart and Hidden Heart across from them on a pair of benches in the bus. Life Heart leaned up against her husband with one hand on her tummy and one hand clasped with his. Crafty Heart had fallen asleep while Hidden Heart was re-reading the book Crafty had bought for her, again.

Sage Heart was drifting off to sleep when a loud honk from the vehicle's horn roused him. He stood up and peered forwards. The driver honked again and Sage Heart just barely made out a figure standing in the middle of the highway some distance away.

"Out of the road!" One of the passengers at the front of the bus shouted, as though that would help.

Out on the road, a white arctic fox stood garbed in thick brown clothes with tassels hanging off the arms and moccasins on his feet. Like the Magi his shirt's collar was low cut to show off his chest symbol: a cloud with heart and star shaped snowflakes falling from it. He took a deep breath as the bus came closer and his chest symbol glowed to form a bow in his left hand. His right hand glowed and an blue arrow of pure frost appeared in his hand. "Concentrate, Snowy, breathe out," he drew the cold arrow back on his bow and exhaled, "Then release!" he fired off the arrow at the road some distance away. A sheet of ice appeared on the road as Snowy released two more arrows that froze more of the road.

The bus driver barely had time to react and slammed on the breaks as the wheels touched the newly formed sheet of ice. The bus skidded on the ice sheet and ended up sliding off the road, thankfully staying upright as it went off road.

The driver turned around, "Is everyone alright?" A series of affirmations came from the passengers and the driver nodded, "Alright. I'm going to call a tow truck and the police, just sit there and… sir what are you doing?"

Sage Heart had walked up to the front of the bus, "I think I recognize that person out there, or at least someone like him. I'm going to talk with him."

"Sir, please stay in your seat and, sir! Sir!" the driver tried to stop Sage Heart as he exited the bus.

Snowy watched as the iridescent blue bear wearing an orange t-shirt and black sweatpants stepped off the bus. "I was hoping you'd see me. Good, I wasn't eager to step onto that… vehicle." His voice was level and calm, but had a hint of acid in it as he spoke the word 'vehicle'.

"I don't want to mince words, why are you here?" Sage Heart was readying himself as he saw the bow in the fox's hand.

"Simple, to take the six of you with me. It can be as guests or as prisoners but that is your choice," Snowy said.

Sage Heart blinked, "Six? But there's only four of us."

Snowy shook his head, "No. I can sense life including the unborn twins inside your mate. And if you think they're going to escape while you distract me," Snowy instantly strung another arrow, this one made of fire, and shot it at the bus' front tire. The sudden heat made the tire melt off the wheel and it leaned forwards slightly.

In an instant, Sage Heart conjured his sword and brandished it in both hands as his skin and fur took on a rocky texture. Snowy turned back to him as a disk of water appeared, hovering in front of him in-between him and Sage Heart.


	25. Frozen Highway

Chapter 25: Frozen Highway

Sage Heart sidestepped until the bus was no longer behind him, his sword pointed at the fox in front of him. "Since you seem to know who we are please tell me your name."

"Snowy Heart Fox." Snowy didn't draw his bow or raise his voice but watched at the floating disc of water repositioned itself to stay between him and Sage Heart. "Are you really going to fight me here? I would prefer if you came quietly, Sage Heart Bear."

Sage Heart tensed, "You still haven't told any of us why you're doing this. Why do you need us to come with you?"

"Because our lady, Soul Heart, wants to see you. She also told me not to spend time talking if I could help it." Snowy drew back on his back on his bow with an arrow of cold, "Now please, just come with me."

Sage Heart narrowed his gaze, "I may consider your offer if I can speak to the rest of my family before I simply travel off with you to see your lady."

Snowy drew the arrow back on his bow, "That will not be necessary. My friends are seeing to your family. You'll see them when we get to my home."

"What are you doing to my children?" Sage Heart tightened his grip on his sword.

"With luck, nothing. Based on our previous interactions I suspect things will get violent." Snowy kept is bow trained on Sage Heart.

Crafty Heart had run to the front of the bus to watch the proceedings. She gripped the stairs' handrail too tightly, "What's going on out there?"

"I don't know, miss, but please just wait for the tow truck." The bus driver looked from Crafty to the front window again.

Hidden Heart approached Crafty from behind and put a hand on her shoulder, "Please, just let Sage Heart handle this."

Crafty tried to take a calming breath but couldn't contain her frustration, "I'm going out there to help!" She dropped down the steps and forced the door open. She dropped onto the grass and conjured her staff from her chest symbol.

Sage Heart and Snowy Heart were still staring each other down when Crafty charged in. Snowy saw her out the corner of his eye and, on instinct, turned and fired at her legs. Crafty let out a cry of pain and surprise as her legs froze and she face planted on the road, skidding a short distance. Sage Heart charged into action with a battle shout and swung at Snowy but was intercepted by the floating water disk.

Snowy jumped back and fired at Sage Heart. Sage Heart dodged aside and fired off a clod of earth at Snowy then charged in again. Snowy's water disk was able to block the clod of earth but Sage Heart was able to get close and with a cry he sliced into the fox's side, drawing some blood from Snowy. Snowy cried out in pain and jumped back, expecting a follow up attack.

Sage Heart stared at the blood on his sword, then took a deep breath, "No, I can't kill him. I need to get under control."

Snowy saw his hesitation as he used water to heal the wound in his side. While Sage Heart was still distracted, Snowy conjured an arrow of fire on his middle finger and an arrow of ice on his index finger then brought the arrows together creating a red and blue spiraled arrow that he drew on his bow. "Antipode shot." He fired the arrow at Sage Heart sword. Sage Heart yelped and dropped his weapon as the cold and fire swirled around it until it shattered.

Snowy Heart Fox lowered his bow, "You are disarmed, now come with me."

"I am not disarmed," Sage Heart conjured a rock and fired it off at Snowy, which he just barely dodged aside as his shield failed to block it. "Merely inconvenienced for the time." Crafty Heart meanwhile had drawn her hands down to her feet to use her own kinetics to remove the ice, ignoring the road rash on her side and her bloody nose.

"Then perhaps I should change my tactics," Snowy drew an arrow of fire on her bow and pointed it at the bus, "Come with me or I will force your hand."

"Like hell!" Crafty Heart charged in and swung her staff at Snowy's head. The water shield stopped her blow but Crafty pulled one of her hands back and then shot it forwards and sent a burst of frost over Snowy's face.

Snowy Heart was unmoved. "Even if I wasn't use to cold weather, I've adapted to the cold through my element. Please don't waste my time." The fire arrow dissipated and Snowy conjured a dagger of pure cold in his right hand that he stabbed it into Crafty. Crafty slipped back, dodging almost by accident as the dagger thrust into where she had been a moment ago.

Snowy was about to stab down when Sage Heart charged in, a longsword in his right hand and a shield on his left. Snowy turned at the last second and tried to stab his ice dagger into him but struck his shield instead. Sage Heart bared his teeth as the cold covered his shield and transferred to his arm but he swung his sword hard and slashed into Snowy's left arm, plowing through the disc of water which splattered everywhere.

Snowy cried out in pain and felt his arm go limp, dropping his bow in the process. Before he could speak or reply, Sage Heart pulled his sword back and stabbed it though Snowy's heart. Snowy was stunned for just a moment then he blacked out.

Sage Heart pulled his sword out of Snowy then caught him as he slumped forwards. Crafty stared at him in horror, "Is he dead?"

Sage Heart shook his head, "Our weapons can't kill anyone unless our killing intent is overpowering. I had to get it under control earlier or I might have killed him just now. We need to keep Snowy Heart with us until we get back to the city." Sage Heart lifted the unconscious fox into his arms and walked back to the bus.

 _Battle on the Highway_

 _Winner:_

 _ **Sage Heart Bear**_

Everyone backed away as Sage Heart brought the attacker onto the bus with him, except for Hidden Heart who just waited for Crafty to step onto the bus, then wrapped her in a huge hug. She was crying. "I thought he was going to kill you," She said through her sobs.

Crafty hugged back and patted her, "I'm fine, a little cold though."

"Alright everyone, sit down and wait for the tow truck. We'll get the wheel replaced as soon as possible and be on our way." Everyone listened.

Hidden Heart didn't let go of Crafty until she sat down and even then she leaned over to put her head on the coyote's shoulder. "You're my only friend, I don't want to lose you."

Crafty stroked Hidden's head, "It's alright, I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere." She gave her forehead a soft kiss.

Sage Heart set Snowy Heart next to the window and sat down next to him in the very back seat. Life Heart joined him and sat down with them, "Is he alright?"

"He'll be unconscious for a few hours but he'll live." Sage Heart kept his gaze on the fox, "He said his friends are doing the same to our children right now," One of his hands tightened into a fist, "If they hurt our children!"

Life Heart took Sage Heart's fist in her hand and squeezed it, "Don't worry. Love Heart and Sweet Heart can handle it. I'm more worried about the others." Sage Heart turned back to her and Life Heart gave him a soft kiss, "thank you for protecting us."

Sage Heart smiled, "I'd do anything for you," he kissed her back.

OoOoO

*CLANG*

*CLANG**CLANG**CLANG*

Calm Heart Lynx's mace rang out as she deflected each blow from Independent Bear's katana blade and she was driven away from the lake by his furious assault. Indy jumped back as a spike of rock shot out and nearly impaled him.

"You don't have to fight us. You can just come with us peacefully." Calm Heart was panting slightly as she stared Indy down.

Indy glared at Calm Heart and pointed at her with his sword in his left hand, "No way in hell. I've been chased halfway across the continent by those monsters of yours: Shatter Heart and Blade Star. It doesn't matter what your excuse is, I'm not going with you!" He took up his sword in both hands as a shimmering field appeared around his sword.

Calm Heart sighed in resignation, "I didn't want to do this, but if I must then I will." She steadied herself and prepared for battle.


	26. Battle or Play? Indy vs Calm Heart

Chapter 26: Battle or Play? Indy vs Calm Heart

Independent Bear charged at Calm Heart Lynx and slashed down hard, partly cleaving through her rocky armor. Calm Heart winced in pain and stepped back, raising a wall of earth to block Indy's advance. Indy dodged around only to be struck in his chest by a column of earth but it shattered on a shell of magical energy that surrounded him. Indy struck out at Calm Heart again but his weapon bounced off her armored earthen shell, which had visibly thickened on her body. Indy winced in pain as his sword vibrated in his hands. Calm Heart turned and ran, getting as much distance between the two of them before Indy regained his footing. Indy didn't miss a beat and took off after Calm Heart.

Calm Heart finally came to a stop in a playground, children stopping to stare at the strange lynx as Indy caught up to her.

"Done running?" Indy pointed his sword at Calm Heart.

Calm Heart shuffled her feet in the mass of loose stones that made up the ground underneath the playground equipment, "I am. I should have expected you to be stronger, since you survived your encounters with Shatter Heart and Blade Star."

"Yes you should have." Indy telekinetically grabbed a scattering of stones from the ground and hurled them at Calm Heart. The children scattered to a distance as Calm Heart weathered the barrage and kicked up a tidal wave of stones to pummel Indy. Indy dodged aside and jumped onto a nearby bar-dome play structure to get a height advantage over her. He charged up a blue ball of energy in his right hand and shot it at Calm Heart, striking her and piercing through her arm.

Calm Heart groaned in pain then ran over to another play structure, climbing and hiding behind the plastic wall. Indy slid down from his perch and was running over to the other structure, before he heard the voices of children nearby.

"Get her!"

"Fight back!"

"Don't let her run!"

"You can beat him!"

The children that had been playing in the park before their arrival now stood at a distance, shouting encouragement to either combatant as they saw fit.

"Looks like we have an audience." Indy looked around at the kids. Their parents nearby tryied to pull them away except they kept running back to watch whenever they had a chance. Other people nearby had pulled out cell phones and cameras to record the fight, "Can't they tell this is real?"

"In my experience, most people either can't tell or don't care if it brings some excitement to their lives." Indy looked up at the voice to see Calm Heart standing on top of one of the plastic walls of the structure, supported by a shelf of earth and with her arms folded. She raised her hands in a shrug and shook her head, "They don't appreciate the stability they have in their modern lives."

"Maybe, or maybe they just love to watch a good fight," Independent Bear gripped his sword in both hands as blue energy surrounded his body, "So let's give them a good show!" he suddenly jumped up at Calm Heart and struck down, just missing her as she fell backwards but not damaging the playground structure.

"I won't stop them," Calm Heart jumped off the play structure right as Indy jumped down to strike again. Calm Heart fired off a rock that struck Indy's barrier but bounced off and Indy jumped down to strike her again, this time hitting the ground as she dodged back.

"Pretty dodgy for a geokineticist!" Indy struck out at her again and she dodged back. "Not going to take hostages?"

Calm Heart raised walls of earth in quick succession to deflect Indy's attacks, "No need. Even if I did I don't think it would deter you." She dodged back then sent a barrage of stones from the ground at Indy. Indy dodged aside then caught the stones with a telekinetic field and slingshotted them around his back and back to Calm Heart only to miss as Confidence Heart charged in and swung her mace down at his head.

Mace and sword rang out like a bell as Indy blocked the mace at the last second only for a rock to shoot out and strike him in the stomach. Indy found himself on the defensive, blocking blow after blow from Calm Heart's mace interspersed with a rock or stones hammering on his magical shield bubble. At last, Calm Heart got past Indy's defenses and struck down hard at his head, snapping his sword in half and shattering his shield to strike him on the head. Indy reeled from the blow but had no time to recover as a solid clod of earth hit him in the stomach.

Calm Heart didn't stop, she struck Indy over and over with the mace and shots of earth. Over, and over, and over she stuck but Indy didn't seem to be going down. Indy used his telekinesis to force himself backwards as he tried to clear the stars and blood from his vision, then then Calm Heart struck.

"Giant Causeway!" Calm Heart slammed the ground and pillars of stone rose in a torrent before her that stuck Indy from below and catapulted him into the sky. Calm Heart watched Indy spiral into the sky, until he suddenly stopped in mid air.

Indy was surrounded by a field of telekinetic energy that held him in place as he finally got his vision back. He glared down Calm Heart as he hovered in place, "That hurt."

"How are you still standing?!" Calm Heart shouted, then stopped and took a deep breath.

"That's the thing about being chased around by two monsters that keep trying to kill you," Indy held his right hand to the side of his head as his mana flowed into his wounds and he conjured a new katana from his chest symbol, "You learn to take a beating and how to recover fast." Indy pulled his hand away from his no longer bleeding head then charged up another orb of blue energy in his right hand. Calm Heart's eyes widened and she raised a wall of earth up in front of her.

"Force Blast!" the blue force bolt lanced out and shattered the barrier before Indy dropped down, slowing his descent to avoid shattering his legs which gave Calm Heart enough time to dodge out of the way. The energy shield finally reformed around Indy and he charged back in to continue the fight.

Now Calm Heart was back on the defensive. She took advantage of Indy's seeming unwillingness to damage the playground equipment and ran through it to force him to come at her from odd angle: up the play structure, around the swings, to the top of the bar dome and down again then through a small open cube with a large "tic-tac-toe" game in one wall.

Indy stopped as she clambered up the play structure again and scowled. "Are we just gong to play games all day?"

"This isn't a game." Calm Heart answered.

"You tell him!" a little boy shouted from the still present audience.

"Stop playing and fight, cat!" a girl added.

Both combatants tried to ignore the mixture of cheers and jeers from the crowd, which had gathered even more members by this point. Indy pointed his sword at the wall in the play structure that Calm Heart was hiding behind, "Then come out and fight me."

"I have a better idea," Calm Heart whispered then took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and tried to spread her senses out through the ground. There he was, right across from her just waiting for her move. This was her shot!

"Stone tide." Suddenly the tiny rocks that made up the ground surrounding the play structures rose up in tidal waves of stones. Indy barely registered what was happening and dodged at the last second, only for a stream to pepper him in the back, shattering his energy shield again.

Indy was forced to dodge, jumping around and going back and forth as rocks rained on him form all sides, most missing but enough striking him to cause bruises for the impacts enhanced by magic. Indy was knocked to the ground and nearly buried under a cascade of rocks, until he forcefully levitated himself up into the sky, leaving his katana behind to dissipate.

Indy stared down as the waves of rocks moved around, seeking him out. He squinted down to where Calm Heart was sheltering. Indy growled and shot his right hand out towards her, A field of blue energy extended out from his left hand and enveloped Calm Heart. The lynx looked up to see Indy's rage filled visage as he shouted, "KINETIC THROW!" He swung his hand out and upwards, Calm Heart tried to resist but she was hurled into the air as Indy swung her up in a massive circle and slammed her to the ground.

Indy panted as he slowly floated back down to the ground and watched Calm Heart. The lynx twitched then groaned as she got to her feet. Her rocky armor was flaking off and her legs were shaking. "I'm not done."

Indy stared her down and conjured another katana into his left hand. Calm Heart managed to conjure her mace again and held it up as she hardened her armor into gray stone texture.

The audience stood in rapt silence as Indy took a deep breath then raised his right hand, grabbing several rock from the ground in telekinetic tethers and hurled them at Calm Heart. Calm Heart dodged aside and hurled a conjured wad of earth at Indy, only for the wad to shatter as Indy swung his right hand down and shot a blue bolt of energy through the earth and struck Calm Heart dead on. Calm Heart wasn't hurled backwards, instead the energy latched onto her. Indy yanked back with his hand as his feet left the ground and he hurtled towards Calm Heart, taking up his katana in both hands. Calm Heart held her mace sideways to block right as Indy came close and the trailing energy tether around his sword, then struck with both hands and all of his might.

The world stood still as Indy stopped two meters behind Calm Heart, his back to where she still stood. Indy's sword dissipated and he straightened up. "Yes you are." A spray of blood burst from Calm Heart's chest as her mace split in half and dissolved and Calm Heart fell to her back, her face still frozen in shock.

Indy walked over to her and checked the large cut across her front. There were no cheers or applause as the audience had watched the final strike play out, more horrified at the brutality of the last two blows than impressed the spectacle. Undeterred, Indy touched Calm Heart's wounds and wove his aether into them to heal her, "I'm no killer, but you're not getting up for a while."

 _Battle in the Playground_

 _Winner:_

 _ **Independent Bear**_

OoOoO

Confidence Heart Fennec was thrown back several meters when Marine Heart Otter stopped. The otter growled and fired off several blasts of water at the fennec fox, who managed to dodge every one and retaliate with a blast of air that struck Marine Heart dead on.

Marine Heart threw up his arms as body armor made of water appeared on his body and the wind struck him, making the water ripple but otherwise not affecting him. He looked up from behind his hands as Confidence Heart punched the air and sent two more blasts of air right at him, both found their target but barely made an impact, leaving only a small and shallow cut on his right forearm.

Marine Heart lowered his arms and bared his teeth at Confidence, "This is your kinetics? You're a novice!" Before Confidence could reply, Marine fired off a concentrated blast of water that struck Confidence dead on, enveloping her completely for an instant. She had no time to recover as Marine Heart charged forwards, surfing on a stream of water under his feet as he plowed into her and grabbed her around the neck. Marine bared his teeth in Confidence's face as he spat his next words at her, "How the hell did a weakling like you beat Passion Heart?"

Confidence Heart smirked and spoke through the grip on her throat, "Like this!" She suddenly punched Marine Heart in the stomach then kicked him away, which tore his hand from the grip around her neck. Now it was Marine Heart's turn to be caught off guard as Confidence Heart followed up punching him repeatedly in the chest then dropped down and swept his legs out from under him, grabbed his arm and swung him up and over to slam him on the ground.

She grinned and pumped her fist as she stepped back to let Marine stand, "Yeah, I'm a novice with kinetics but I've been learning karate and wrestling my whole life! This is how I beat Passion Heart and it's how I'm going to beat you!"

Marine Heart stood up slowly then turned to face her, his eyes blazing. "Alright then. I'll pay you back ten times for what you did to him, no matter what it takes."

Confidence Heart gave a single derisive laugh, "Bring it on!"


	27. Sink or Swim, Confidence vs Marine

Chapter 27: Sink or Swim, Confidence Heart vs Marine Heart

Confidence Heart darted forwards and threw a punch at Marine Heart who dodged backwards, surfing on a wake of water under his feet. Marine let out a shout and fired off a stream of water at Confidence, who dodged aside and charged in again.

"I heard you were raised by humans," Marine dodged back again, "I guess you sympathise with those bastards!"

Confidence held her arms up as she circled him, "Gonna reveal your tragic backstory now?" she smirked.

Marine Heart growled, "Are you mocking me?!" He swung his arms sideways and struck out at Confidence with a long lash of water. She blocked it but was pushed to her right from the impact.

"Nope, but I'd like to hear- whoa!" Confidence jumped back as Marine Heart charged forwards and threw and open handed punch with his claws extended forwards. Confidence Heart caught his strike with her left hand then blocked another strike from his left in her right and the two of them began to grapple.

Marine bared his teeth, "Why I hate humans? Fine! I used to be a normal otter, I lived with a raft of other boars. It was a nice place, a raft of lovely sows nearby too, I had one I wanted to be my mate and she wanted me too. Then one day I saw a star shine and I woke up like this. The others were scared of me at first until I learned to use this body to hunt better than any of them could. I waited every day for that star to change my mate-to-be too, but that didn't happen, instead there was an oil spill!"

"What?" Confidence Heart was nearly pushed back but rooted herself to better stabilize.

Marine Heart no longer had his teeth bared and his face became dour, "I saw the ship crash. It covered everything and everyone died! Both boar and sow rafts and even the fish I needed to eat! I was the only survivor, I stumbled around covered in that black poison, getting sicker every day until I was saved by my new family, the Shadow Magi!" Marine Heart suddenly spat, shoot a small stream of water from his mouth into Confidence's face. In the brief splutter Confidence was kneed in the stomach, Marine Heart wrenched his hand free and struck out at her face with his claws forwards, "and I'm going to make you pay for hurting my friend!"

Confidence barely dodged aside, getting a shallow cut on her face. She pulled her right hand free and took up a stance. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm not backing down!" She punched forwards but Marine dodged and struck out again.

Confidence and Marine's limbs flew in a flurry as they struck out at each other and blocked or dodged aside, dancing along the coast of the lake back and forth even as a small crowd gathered at a distance to watch. Confidence was on her toes as she deflected his attacks, and noticed a pattern. "You're a martial artist?" She jumped back and delivered a powerful punch to his midsection, only for Marine to block with both hands, shuddering under the impact slightly. "If you hate humans so much then why are you using something they invented?"

Marine growled and kicked out at her to force her back, "Martial arts were stolen from animals!"

"What?" Confidence Heart steadied herself as she jumped back.

Marine took up a fighting stance again, his hands raised at his sides with the claws extended and struck out at Confidence, who dodged away from his strikes "Humans invented martial arts by mimicking the movement of animals. They're pathetic!" He spat then charged forwards, striking out with claws extended towards Confidence, "Humans can't be powerful on their own without stealing from animals, but they can never steal my own martial art, Otter Style!" Marine Heart suddenly spun in place and struck Confidence in the side with his hefty rudder-like tail.

Confidence Heart felt the wind blown from her as she was sent sprawling, taken completely by surprise by Marine's tail attack. Before she could get up, Marine pounced on her, claws and teeth extended. Confidence raised her left arm to block and Marine Heart bit down hard on her forearm. Confidence didn't scream but grit her teeth as he struck out at her chest and made five impacts with his claws, drawing blood and trying to tear the patch of skin off.

Confidence caught his left hand in her right as he struck out at her again. "Passion tried that too, but his hurt way more!" Confidence's right knee shot out and caught Marine in his stomach. He gasped and released his grips on Confidence's chest and arm. Confidence kicked out with her left foot which forced Marine Heart off of her then sprang to her feet and grabbed his arm. Marine Heart was too dazed to react as Confidence put him in a Full-Nelson lock, pining his legs and tail with her own legs. "There! Now give up!"

Marine Heart finally came back to his senses and growled as he struggled in Confidence's grip. "Let me go!" He twisted his right arm up and tickled Confidence's ear, and got no response.

Confidence snorted, "Really, tickling? My gym teacher taught me that's the first thing dirty wrestlers try to do so he got me used to it!" Confidence Heart's ears twitched and she grinned, "sounds like the police are here."

"Too bad, they won't find me!" A rush of water suddenly appeared under their feet and began sweeping them towards the lake. It was Confidence's turn to be caught off guard and her grip loosened as they launched off the edge of the shore. Marine Heart took advantage and wrenched free from her grip then spun around while they were still in mid air, thwacking her with his tail then grabbing her and hurling her down into the lake. Marine Heart landed on the water, his feet touching the surface but not sinking in as he stretched his arms. He bared his teeth at the form he saw receding below then dove in, not even making a ripple as his sleek body broke the surface.

Confidence Heart barely had time to hold her breath as she broke the surface of the lake and plunged downwards. The water was cold and murky which made her eyes hurt. She would have shut them if she didn't know that Marine Heart was still after her, even so she was taken aback when the otter charged at her like a harpoon and threw a clawed punch straight into her stomach.

"This is my territory!" Marine Heart grabbed Confidence's arm, "You're from the desert so I doubt all this water is good for you!" He swung her hard and into the wall of the Lake. "Surprised I can talk under here?" Marine Heart shot forwards and kicked Confidence in the chest, "I'm not just an otter, I'm a master hydrokineticist! I can breathe underwater!" Confidence tried to swim away but Marine shot a blast of water at her and sent her spiraling before he swam after her, "And I can swim faster than you ever could!" He slammed his elbow into her chest, forcing air out of her lungs.

Confidence Heart retaliated with a blast of air, still weak but sudden enough to send Marine Heart off some distance. Her breath was nearly gone as she tried to keep her eyes on him. Swimming for the surface was out of the question, he could spot her and just drag her back down. But wait? What if she… Confidence Heart held her hands to the sides of her head, focus, focus! She felt the water trying to force itself down her nose as she forced air up and through her hands. Air bubbles formed on her palms and grew to encompass her head before joining in the middle. Confidence gasped as she breathed in her conjured air, the bubble of air distorting her vision somewhat but at least letting her breathe.

"Clever. I guess you're not as much of a novice as I thought," Marine Heart floated nearby, "But you're still fucked!" with a push from his webbed feet, Marine Heart retracted his claws and threw a punch at Confidence Heart, who dodged her head aside.

"Screw that!" Confidence threw a punch, but Marine Heart easily dodged aside.

Confidence just stared as he spun around and whacked her with his tail again, then extended his claws and raked her across the back. "Guess again! I can see you're slowed down by all this water!" He easily evaded a kick from Confidence then swam above, summersaulted and kicked her in the back, pushing her deeper into the water. "But my otter style, it's stronger underwater! I invented it when I had to learn to catch fish with a large, strong and slower body, that's how I became the best hunter in my raft!" Marine Heart caught Confidence Heart's tail and spun her around and around and around under the water until he released her as she flew downwards, striking something hard.

Confidence felt the dented metal underneath her as she pushed herself out of the object. Marine Heart floated over to her, "Take a look," he pointed to the object Confidence Heart was still on top of. She looked down and saw the peeling paint and dented roof of a car resting on the bottom of the lake. Marine Heart glowered down at her, "This is what they do, pollute and leave their garbage everywhere! Even if you didn't hurt Passion Heart I wouldn't let a human-raised piece of garbage like you out of here alive!" Marine Heart clapped his hands together and pulled them apart, condensing the water into a meter-wide dense sphere between his hands that he hurled at Confidence.

Confidence Heart shot a stream of air downwards, just barely avoiding the sphere that smashed the car flat. Marine Heart gave out a cry and torpedoed into her, striking her stomach with his extended claws. Despite the pain, Confidence managed to grab him arms and force them out of her then kicked him in the chest.

Marine reeled slightly, then grinned, "Nice try!" He kicked her in the chest then dodged Confidence's retaliatory strike and spun to strike her with his tail again. Confidence tried to put some distance between them but Marine Heart thrust out with his hand as the water condensed and struck Confidence in the chest. "Too bad you can breathe or we'd be done by now!" he shot several more blasts of water at Confidence which plowed her into the bottom of the lake as Marine charged up another sphere of water and hurled it at her, this time Confidence was unable to dodge.

Confidence's air bubble burst for a moment as she felt her body squashed by the impact. She barely had a moment to reform the air bubble over her head before Marine Heart charged in again and struck her in the chest. Confidence tried to punch him again but the water slowed her down and Marine easily dodged and struck her with his tail again. Confidence tried to grab his tail but as soon as she touched it he flicked it out of her grasp and kicked her in the stomach.

' _I gotta get him above water somehow.'_ Confidence Heart grit her teeth and fired off a blast of air at Marine, pushing her back somewhat and missing, though a small explosion went off at the impact on the floor of the lake.

Marine Heart looked up from where he had dodged to see Confidence swimming for the surface, the air bubble around her head having disappeared. He grinned, "You're mine!" and shot off after her. Marine grabbed her leg as she neared the surface but she kicked him off and kept going. Marine Heart growled and shot upwards to grab Confidence in a tight hug right below the surface near the lake's edge, "Gotcha!"

Confidence looked down which showed the air bubble just over her nose and mouth, "Surprise!" air shot out of her hands and shot them up and out of the water. They were suspended in mid-air for a moment until Confidence reversed Marine's grab and hurled him onto the shore. She landed in the water then grabbed the concrete edge of the water and pulled herself back onto land.

Marine Heart had just managed to stand when Confidence Heart came charging and punched him in the stomach. "You're right, I couldn't beat you underwater," she spun around and kicked Marine in the side, "So I'll fight you here!" Marine Heart reeled from her kick and was about to strike out at Confidence when she punched him in the face, which gave him a black eye. Confidence threw another punch and felt the shudder roll up her arm as she hit Marine in the chest. Instead of the rapid punches she had thrown earlier, Confidence threw her back into eveyr punch she threw and felt the reverberations travel up her arm with each impact.

Marine Heart was pummeled nearly senseless, his left eye swollen shut and his chest and stomach aching from the repeated blows but he finally managed to pull a hand free and rake Confidence's face with his claws before he lost his balance. Confidence sucked in air through her teeth and grabbed the hand he'd struck her face with in both hands and hurled him over her shoulder to the ground. Marine Heart lashed out with his tail and managed to trip Confidence.

Both Marine and Confidence were bruised, bloody and exhausted as they forced themselves to stand. Confidence Heart was the first to her feet as she took up a stance to face Marine Heart again. Marine was on all fours and finally pushed himself up as his armor of water formed over his body, it having deserted him when he was shot out of the water.

Marine Heart charged at Confidence and struck her in the chest with his claws, but Confidence grabbed his right arm with her left even as the claws pierced her chest. Marine growled and struck her in the side, his claws sticking deep in, "Not go enough! Just die!"

"Fat chance!" Confidence Heart drew back her left hand and poured all of her magic into her fist. A ball of compressed air formed on her fist and she gave a cry as she punched him hard in the chest, "Cyclone armor break!" Confidence Heart's fist plowed through Marine's water armor and right into his stomach. The ball of air burst and a tornado of air blasted into him. Marine Heart's grips released and he coughed up blood as Confidence's last blow launched him a full meter away from her. Marine hit the ground hard and lay there, senseless.

Confidence panted as she watched Marine Heart as he lay there, just to make sure he was down. Then she pumped her fist in the air, "Alright!"

 _Battle in the Lake_

 _Winner:_

 _ **Confidence Heart Fennec**_


	28. Crossed Ideals Love Heart vs Flash Heart

Chapter 28: Crossed Ideals, Love Heart vs Flash Heart

Love Heart's swords clashed against Flash Heart's light blade before he was forced to jump back as Flash Heart fired off a laser at him. Love Heart was put on the defensive as Flash Heart fired off a rapid volley of lasers at him. Love Heart dodged aside and swung one of his swords, sending off an arc of lightning towards Flash Heart. As the yellow bear ducked Love Heart charged in and struck upwards. Flash Heart dodged back and swung his light sword at Love Heart, just barely scratching his side. Love Heart stabbed down and nicked Flash in the foot, not nearly enough to paralyse him.

Their swords flew in a flurry, clashing off each other as the solid light impacted the magically conjured steel. A small crowd had gathered to watch the two as they locked their swords together and started to struggle.

Flash Heart grinned, "I'm impressed, I see how you were able to defeat Shatter Heart and Blade Star."

Love Heart growled, "Those friends of yours nearly burned a hole in my arm and shattered my eardrums."

Flash snorted, "I don't call those two my friends, but I will admit that they are tough." He grinned again, "I'm going to enjoy this!" He stepped back and swung up and outwards, Love Heart just barely able to dodge. Love Heart was forced to drop to the ground as Flash sliced the air where he had been a moment ago then literally flew backwards along the ground then up into the sky as he righted himself.

"You can fly?!" Flash Heart stared up at Love Heart, mouth open.

Love Heart conjured a pair of sheaths and used magic to attach them to his back. "Surprise!" He sheathed his swords then shot hit right arm towards Flash Heart and sent an arc of lightning directly at him. Flash Heart dodged aside a moment too late as the lightning struck his leg, he sucked air through his teeth and pointed up at Love Heart, unleashing a rapid-fire barrage of lasers. Both were struck by the other's attacks, not enough to bring the other down but enough to send the few spectators that had gathered to flee.

Love Heart put his hands together, palms open facing forwards as electricity gathered in his hands. Flash Heart saw this and instead held up his right middle and index fingers and started to gather light in between the finger tips. The energy in Love Heart's hands condensed until it formed into a small purple ball with strings that danced throughout his fingers and grew until it was the size of a baseball. The light on Flash's fingertips grew into a miniature sun. Suddenly Love Heart shot his arms forwards and Flash Heart shot his hand forwards.

"Plasma Blast!" Love Heart shouted as the bolt of plasma shot down at Flash.

"Laser Drill!" Flash Heart shouted and fired off a spiraling beam of light towards Love Heart.

The beam and bolt struck each other in mid air and sent out waves of energy that made everyone's hair stand on end. The plasma bolt tried to push down against the laser drill as Flash Heart tried to force the bolt back. Finally, Flash Heart stopped his attack and jumped back just in time to avoid the bolt as it struck down and exploded on the shore. Love Heart dove at Flash Heart drew his swords and swung down at Flash Heart, who just barely managed to conjure a pair of light swords to block the attack.

Their swords flashed and crashed against each other as they performed a deadly dance across the park. Love Heart's feet no longer touched the ground as he darted in, striking at Flash Heart from any angle he could find, above, spiraling around behind him and striking him in the sides. Flash Heart was no amateur and he parried and blocked every attack, exercising all his skill to keep Love Heart's assault at bay.

"Can't focus," Flash Heart panted as he deflected an attack that would have got him through the chest.

Love Heart pulled back for a moment, lowered his swords and landed to get his bearings. Something in the corner of his eye drew his attention and he turned just in time to see Marine Heart Otter hurl Confidence Heart into the lake then land on the surface.

"Confidence!" Love Heart was about to turn to the lake when a sharp pain lanced through his side.

"Don't get distracted." Flash Heart hand stuck one of his light swords through Love Heart's left side, with the blade coming out his back.

Love Heart reacted almost instantly and slashed upwards at Flash Heart, he was too close to dodge. Flash Heart's light sword vanished as he stumbled backwards, his right hand over the massive gash all the way up his front.

Love Heart stared at him, then the blood on his sword. "How did? I thought these couldn't kill."

"Neither did I?" Flash Heart's right hand was glowing white as he applied the light to his wound to stop the bleeding and close it.

"Maybe…" Love Heart took a deep breath, "Only if I want to kill someone, because that's how I just felt." Love Heart exhaled and readied his swords. "OK gotta stay focused.

"Should have kept attacking," Flash Heart finally closed his wound, though his coat and fur were still stained red. He raised his right hand and formed another sword of light, "Now then, let's continue."

"FREEZE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND PUT YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEADS!"

Love Heart looked over his shoulder, "Shit!" There were eight police in S.W.A.T. gear, or at least that's what he thought they were called. Details didn't matter, they all had firearms aimed at the two of them, four rifles and four handguns with one holding a megaphone he had used to make the announcement. Love Heart growled then dropped his swords, which dissolved as they hit the ground, and put his hands over his head, Flash Heart just stared at the police with a smirk and let his light sword disappear.

The officer spoke again, "ALRIGHT! NOW DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!" Love Heart dropped to his knees but Flash Heart didn't.

Flash Heart scowled and created another light sword, "Not this time, thugs." He raised the sword. Eight shots rang out. Love Heart felt two sharp pains in his back and saw Flash Heart reel as four bullets struck him in the chest and two in the middle of his head.

The pain wasn't as intense as Love Heart thought it would be, maybe it was because he was dying. Time hung still as Flash Heart staggered, then glared as he reached up and pulled the two bullets out of his forehead, which left small red points where they had impacted. "THAT HURT!" Flash Heart's body suddenly turned into a collection of light and flew past Love Heart, the last four bullets dropping to the ground. Love Heart felt something dislodge from his back as he stood up and turn around to see the two bullets that had hit him lying on the ground, smashed like they had struck a bulletproof vest.

Love Heart shook himself out of the trance when he saw that Flash Heart had reappeared at the end of the line of officers. "No more guns!" Flash Heart zipped across the front of the line. Flashes of light appeared in front of each SWAT officer and when Flash Heart stopped at the other side with a light sword in each hand, all of their guns fell apart into tiny chunks.

Flash Heart turned around to face the startled but still ready officers, some of drew their sidearms or clubs. "Are you really going to try that again?"

Love Heart crashed into Flash Heart's side with a kick and sent him flying. "Run!" Love Heart shouted to the SWAT. "Bullet can't hurt us so run!" he conjured his swords again and charged at Flash Heart.

One SWAT officer lowered his handgun and turned to the captain, "Sir, now what?"

The captain pointed to the people still loitering around the part who were watching the fights, "Get the civilians clear of here and make sure the news crews stay clear of the fighting. Go!"

OoOoO

Sage Heart, Life Heart, Crafty Heart and Hidden Heart stepped off the bus with the still unconscious Snowy Heart supported between Crafty and Sage Heart. Hidden Heart stuck close to Crafty and Life Heart as she gazed around the bus terminal. Her attention was drawn to a television screen that showed a park with a lake in the middle and a ribbon across the bottom that read: "BREAKING NEWS, BATTLE IN WASCANA PARK!" She grabbed Life Heart's arm and pointed up at the screen right as the camera focused on Love Heart and Flash Heart, their swords of metal and light clashing off of each other, "Look!"

Life Heart followed her finger then gasped as she saw the screen. "It's Love Heart!" Crafty and Sage Heart turned to look at the screen.

"That's Wascana park, Com'on let's go!" Crafty turned and forced Sage Heart to follow after her. Life Heart held her belly as she and Hidden Heart followed after them.

OoOoO

Love Heart and Flash Heart's swords flew at each other in a flurry like before, only this time with greater intensity as light and electricity danced around them. Love Heart locked his swords and held Flash Heart's in place, "You were going to kill them!"

Flash Heart growled, "Why do you care about those jackboots? You know what I don't care!" He broke the lock and stuck out again. "I was just going to scare them off!" He dodged away from Love Heart. Love Heart struck out and caught Flash Heart slightly in the side as he turned into light and flew past Love Heart.

Love Heart whirled around just in time to be struck in the gut by a heavy metal weight. As he reeled from the blow he looked up to see Flash Heart standing a short distance away, a miniature scythe in his left hand and twirling a length of chain with a weight at the end in his right hand. "Kusarigama, a kama and weighted chain, my real weapon. Now time for round two!" Flash Heart whipped the weighted chain at Love Heart, who dodged aside and charged in and slashed as him. Flash Heart dodged aside and slashed at him with the kama in his right hand. Love Heart felt it cut across his chest and jumped back.

Flash Heart retreated back from Love Heart then swung the weighted chain end at him again, which wrapped around his middle. Flash Heart pulled Love Heart close to him, dropped the kama end, and conjured a light sword that he slashed into Love Heart with.

Love Heart cried out then stabbed his right hand sword into Flash Heart's leg, no blood this time but not deep enough to paralyse it either. Flash Heart pushed him away and then struck out with the weighted end again and struck Love Heart in the side of his head. Stars burst in Love Heart's vision and he fired out a web of lightning surrounding him. Flash Heart was caught by three of the bolts and was forced to jump backwards several steps.

Love Heart's vision finally cleared as he turned to Flash Heart, lightning coursing through his swords. Flash Heart held up the kusarigama chain in his right hand and spun the chain around and around like a propeller. He suddenly whipped the weighted chain at Love Heart from six meters away, extra links forming on the chain and making it extend and strike a taken aback Love Heart in the side.

Love Heart reeled, hand on his injury as the chain magically retracted and Flash Heart spun it around his head again. "What the hell was that?!"

Flash Heart smirked, "Guess you don't know much about our weapons do you? They're magical, which is why they can hurt us but bullets can't, and once you know how you can change their shape on the fly. Like adding extra links!" Flash Heart's last shouted words were followed by the weighted chain whipping out at Love Heart again. This time Love Heart was ready and dodged back. Flash Heart reeled his chain back in only to be struck by a bolt of lightning from Love Heart but he held his ground and whipped out again. Love Heart was about to dodge when a flash of light from the yellow bear blinded him. Love Heart was struck hard in the gut then twice in the sides.

Love Heart all but forced his vision to clear, only for Flash Heart to have vanished. Love Heart had no time to react as the whirring noise of the chain sounded behind him. The links struck him in the left shoulder and the chain wrapped around his body until the metal weight stopped at his feet, pinning his legs together and his arms to his sides.

Flash Heart pulled tight on the chain and slashed the bladed kama into Love Heart's right shoulder, where it passed through bloodlessly. Love Heart cried out in pain as he felt his right arm go limp and Flash Heart repositions the blade at Love Heart's throat.

"I'm not going to kill you, I think I just showed that I know how to use this to paralyse or knock you out." Flash Heart's voice was a harsh growl in Love Heart's ear, "I don't want you to be unconscious when you meet Soul Heart but I will do it if I have to and then I'll collect all your friends and drag them back after my family is done with them."

Love Heart struggled for a moment, then saw the surface of the lake bubble up. He smiled at what he saw, "What makes you think they're going to win?"

"What?!" Flash Heart looked up just in time to see Confidence hovering in mid air over the lake as she hurled Marine Heart to the shore. Flash Heart's mouth fell open as he watched Confidence lay into Marine Heart with a ferocity he hadn't expected from her. His pull on the chain loosened.

Love Heart felt the chain go slack and drove his left elbow into Flash's stomach. Flash felt the air knocked form his lungs as he dropped the kusarigama. Love Heart formed a sword of pure blue lightning in his left hand and sliced the last of the chain in half, making it dissolve, and rounded on Flash Heart.

Flash Heart shook his head and saw Love Heart slash at him with the lightning sword. Flash Heart conjured a pair of light swords and blocked the next strike from Love Heart's lightning sword. "You're left handed?"

"Ambidextrous!" Love Heart stepped back, and stumbled with his limp right arm, then swung out with the lightning sword. Flash Heart dodged aside and disappeared in a flash of light, Love Heart swung his sword sideways and behind him which fired off a bolt if lightning that struck Flash Heart right as he appeared. Flash Heart staggered as Love Heart spun around and charge to assault him with renewed vigour.

Blow after blow after blow, Love Heart struck Flash Heart over and over with all the force he could until he struck at Flash Heart's crossed light swords and all three energy swords shattered. Love Heart walked back as Flash Heart tried his light teleportation again but stumbled and only moved half a meter. Love Heart conjured a lightning sword into his left hand. He grit his teeth as the lightning condensed into a thin blade of purple plasma.

"This ends now!" Love Heart charged forwards as Flash Heart created a two-handed light sword to block the strike and four illusory duplicates appeared around him. "Plasmetic Slash!" Love Heart's sword cleaved through Flash Heart's sword, shattered all four illusions and sliced right through Flash Heart.

Flash Heart's body was wreathed in plasma strings as he cried out in pain, then he fell to his knees then onto his face. Love Heart's sword dissolved and he stumbled, panting as he tried to stay upright.

 _Duel of the leaders_

 _Winner:_

 _ **Love Heart Bear**_

"Love Heart!" Confidence Heart ran over and hugged Love Heart, despite her injuries.

Love Heart winced, "Ow, thank. How are you?"

"Sore all over, and I think I inhaled some water," Confidence coughed.

Love Heart smiled, "Nah, if you had you wouldn't be standing. Almost happened to me and Sweet Heart when we were kids."

"But you saved me, big brother." Sweet Heart almost crashed into Love Heart and Confidence in a big hug, but stopped when she felt his limp arm. "Are you OK."

"I will be, how are you?" Love Heart looked his sister up and down, seeing the blood on her left wing.

Sweet Heart winced, "My wing hurts and but she's worse," Sweet Heart grinned and turned to where Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart were carrying Flora Bear between them, who was still awake but too hurt to move.

Flora spotted Marine Heart lying nearby and glared daggers at Confidence Heart, "You'll pay for that."

Confidence grinned, "Nope, he payed for that."

"Looks like you all lost," Indy came striding up with Calm Heart slung over his shoulder. He deposited her unceremoniously on the ground next to Flash Heart.

"Trophy pile then," Defiant smirked as he and Guidance dropped Flora next to her two unconscious friends.

"Ooh my turn!" Despite her pain, Confidence Heart ran back over to Marine Heart and began to haul him over to the group.

Love Heart looked Indy up and down, "Are you alright?"

"Almost drained. That's only he second time I finished a fight." Indy smiled, "Thanks for finding me." He walked over to Love Heart and took hold of Love Heart's limp right arm.

"Thanks for helping out. I wouldn't have been able to fight them both at once," Love Heart felt a bit of exhaustion seep into him as feeling returned to his arm. He looked up as Confidence Heart dragged Marine Heart next to Flora Bear.

"That's right, you couldn't have," Flora tried to sit up but collapsed to her back. She turned to Marine's unconscious form and her voice softened, "Don't worry, Marine. Soul Heart will fix this."

"And just who is Soul Heart?" Everyone turned to see Sage Heart, who had just spoken, and Crafty approach with the unconscious Snowy Heart between them and Life Heart and a Grey Care Wolf walking behind them.

"Sorry, we had some bad traffic on the way home," Crafty grinned as she and Sage Heart deposited Snowy Heart on the pile.

"Looks like it," Confidence looked over to Hidden Heart, who just waved, "So who are you?"

"Hid…Hidden Heart Wolf," Hidden Heart's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Don't worry, she's just shy." Crafty Heart whistled, "Damn, we really cleaned up."

Sage Heart crouched next to Flora Bear and looked her in the face, "Now tell me, who are you and who is Soul Heart."

"That would be me. I am Soul Heart Bear."

Everyone's sight was drawn upwards to a thin purple bear grinning down at them who wore a black bodysuit and a long, billowing black cape; they couldn't tell if Soul Heart was male or female, they seemed to lack and discernable indicators of gender, save for the voice which sounded vaguely female.

Soul Heart shook her head, "I'm actually impressed, I only thought Marine Heart might lose when he lost his temper, but all of you. I really underestimated the pegasus."

"What do you want!" Love Heart clenched his fist as he glared up at Soul Heart.

"For the moment, to deal with all of you," Soul Heart held up her hands, a ball of black energy in her left and a ball of ice in her right which she raised them over her head and fused into a ball of black ice. Soul Heart grinned and hurled the ball down at them, "Black Ice Strike!"

"Run!" Love Heart shouted and the Magi scattered at the ice ball struck where they had been a moment ago.

Soul Heart conjured several orbs of black energy, "I think I'll end this right now and…and…ARRRGH!" the black energy orbs disappeared as Soul Heart clutched her head. "We have to save…our family." Her voice suddenly became harsh and echoing, "NO! DESTROY…DESTROY THEM!" Soul Heart sucked in a hard breath and focused her gaze on the unconscious and injured combatants still lying together, "I have to save them." She held out her right hand and fired off a hollo black bubble at them. The bubble enveloped them and levitated them upwards.

Soul Heart pressed her left hand into her left eye and bared her teeth towards the group, "You've defeated the Shadow Magi this time, but we'll be back!" The black bubble floated up to be level with her, then they all vanished into a sudden flicker of energy.

Crafty Heart was the first to speak, "So what just happened."

"I was hoping all of you could tell me." All of them turned towards the new voice, a male voice. The owner was walking towards them; he was a blue male Care Dog about the same height as Confidence Heart with a red heart-shaped medallion for a chest symbol, though he wasn't wearing anything.

Love Heart was on his guard but didn't draw a weapon, "Who are you? Are you with them?"

The dog shook his head, "No. My name is Loyal Heart Dog from the Care Bear Family. Who are all of you?"

Love Heart visibly relaxed, "My name is Love Heart Bear of the Care Bear Magi. I think we've been trying to find you for my entire life."


	29. A True Home

Chapter 29: A True Home

Earlier that afternoon, Loyal Heart Dog was on a walk through the Kingdom of Caring. There were no alerts at the moment but even so he decided to go and take a look through the star-o-scope, a star shaped telescope with a heart shaped lens that rested on a fence and let them see all the way to Earth from their vantage high in the sky.

Loyal Heart smirked when he saw that Wish Bear was on duty at the star-o-scope. Wish Bear was a teal Care Bear whose chest symbol was a yellow shooting star with an orange and yellow tail. "Volunteered again?" Loyal Heart asked as he stepped up beside her.

Wish hummed, "Hmm, no. I got a strange caring alert a few minutes ago and I'm trying to find… Wait…Loyal Heart look at this!" She stepped away from the star-o-scope to let Loyal Heart peer through.

Loyal Heart gaped as he saw the battles between the Care Bear Magi and the Shadow Magi erupting in Wascana park. "Care Bears? Fighting!?"

"I know. What's going on?" Wish edged back in next to Loyal Heart.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" Loyal ran from the observation platform, "Tell everyone else to get ready, especially Take Care!"

The garage was nearby and Loyal Heart jumped into a waiting cloudmobile near the runway. Cloudmobiles were open topped cars made of clouds with pastel colored controls and pink tires; cloudmobile (or cloud cars) could fly and Loyal Heart took off from where he was parked and flew down towards earth, turning the GPS to guide him towards where the star-o-scope was focused.

Everyone in the park was so focused on the fights going on that no one noticed when Loyal Heart landed the cloud car amongst the trees. Loyal Heart arrived just in time to see the Love Heart Bear conjure a thin blade of purple plasma in his still working left hand.

"This ends now!" Love Heart charged forwards as Flash Heart created a two-handed light sword to block the strike and four illusory duplicates appeared around him. "Plasmetic Slash!" Love Heart's sword cleaved through Flash Heart's sword, shattered all four illusions and sliced right through Flash Heart.

Flash Heart's body was wreathed in plasma strings as he cried out in pain, then he fell to his knees then onto his face. Love Heart's sword dissolved and he stumbled, panting as he tried to stay upright.

Loyal Heart stayed hidden, unsure of what to do as he saw the other victors come together, bringing their defeated foe together and drop them in an unceremonious heap. Loyal Heart couldn't hear what they were saying now that they were no longer shouting at each other and he strained his ears to try and pick up on the conversation. He started when he saw that among the victors were a red fox with two tail, a pink winged horse and a green unicorn. He had made up his mind to reveal himself and was about to step out to greet the Magi when a voice pealed out from overhead.

"That would be me. I am Soul Heart Bear."

Loyal Heart felt a chill run down his spine as the words echoed through the park and he stared up at the androgynous purple Care Bear. Something about their voice seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place it. He barely registered when Soul Heart attacked the Magi nor when they levitated the unconscious Shadow Magi up and teleported away.

Once they disappeared, Crafty Heart was the first to speak, "So what just happened?"

"I was hoping all of you could tell me." Loyal Heart emerged from the treeline and grabbed all of their attention. Now that he was able to see them closer he found that he came to about the same height as the long-eared sandy colored fox.

Love Heart was on his guard but didn't draw a weapon, "Who are you? Are you with them?"

Loyal Heart shook his head, "No. My name is Loyal Heart Dog from the Care Bear Family. Who are all of you?"

Love Heart visibly relaxed, "My name is Love Heart Bear of the Care Bear Magi. I think we've been trying to find you for my entire life."

OoOoO

A small island in the Atlantic Ocean. Not an unknown place but uninhabited due to the fact that it was too small to be worth anyone's time. No rare resources, barely any trees, no native animal life save for seabirds that occasionally landed to rest. Despite all of this it was where the Shadow Magi called home and houses and huts for them to live were scattered about, each surrounded by an environment that suited their inhabitants.

Soul Heart and the Shadow Magi appeared in front of her home: a large white multi-room boxy hut. She dropped the Shadow Magi in a small heap then landed on her knees and held her left hand to her head. A moment later, Shatter Heart and Blade Star appeared in front of her, both dropped to one knee and placed their right hands over their chests.

"Welcome back Lady Soul Heart," Blade Star said.

"Did those idiots fail you?" Shatter Heart grinned, "Want me to finish them off?"

"Ye- NO!" Soul Heart's voice fluctuated as she forced herself to stand. "Where is…Passion Heart?"

"Right Here!" Passion Heart Wolverine came running up to Soul Heart and glared at Shatter Heart and Blade Star, then turned to the unconscious pile of his friends, "What the fuck happened?"

"ASk…thEm!" Soul Heart stumbled towards the entrance to her house. "Tell….FlASh he's in ChhaArge! I neeEd to rESt." She forced the door open and shut it behind her.

"A pity." Blade Star stood up, "Perhaps we should take this chance to finish-" before she could finish, Passion's axe was in her face.

"Touch them and I'll chop you fucksticks in half!" He glared at the snickering Shatter Heart, "Don't tempt me, I'm only holding back because Soul Heart wants you kept around."

"you…Tell 'em…Passion" Flora forced herself up into a sitting position, "A little…help…please."

Passion kept his eyes on Shatter Heart and Blade Star, who went to stand beside the front door of Soul Heart's house as guards. Then he stepped back and reached behind himself to help Flora to stand. Once Flora was standing up, albeit on shaky feet, he spoke, "Go get Tarot Heart and then we can haul everyone back home."

Flora nodded, "OK." Despite her exhaustion she created a pair of wooden crutches to help herself stay upright. Passion Heart kept his eyes on Shatter Heart and Blade Star, his axe at the ready just in case.

OoOoO

The more Love Heart looked at the blue dog, the more Loyal Heart stood out. It was hard to describe but his fur, his eyes, his entire body seemed more brightly colored. Looking back at himself and his friends and family they looked like pictures that had faded slightly after sitting in the light for too long and in contrast Loyal Heart looked like a freshly painted picture (or at least freshly repainted). Love Heart shook his head to clear those thoughts from his head as Loyal Heart spoke.

"I see. Well it's a good thing I found you then," Loyal Heart nodded, "I actually saw you fighting earlier and I watched until you all finished. I had to be sure you were good people."

"Oh?" Confidence Heart stepped forwards, "What makes you think we're good people? You saw us fighting so how did you know who the 'good guys' are?"

Loyal Heart smiled, "Simple: you didn't kill your enemies. You defeated them and brought them here to find out what they were doing, if you weren't good people then you would have just killed them." Loyal Heart leaned sideways and saw the police starting to gather, "You should come to the Kingdom of Caring with me, I suspect things will be difficult here if you do."

"Really?!" Sweet Heart stepped forwards, but Love Heart held out an arm to stop her.

"Thanks but no thanks, we're just fine right where we are."

"Oh come on, really?!" Anger Heart shouted.

Loyal Heart winced and sighed, "If that's your decision then I can't force you. Farewell."

Loyal Heart had half-turned around when Love Heart spoke up, "OK, were coming with out?"

"WHAT?!" Loyal Heart and the rest of the Care Bear Magi (other than Life Heart and Sage Heart) shouted.

"I just needed to see if _you_ were a good person." Love Heart held his hands out, palms upwards, "Every time these 'Shadow Magi' have come to us they always gave us an ultimatum to come with them or be killed. You," he pointed to Loyal Heart, "were willing to let us walk away without a fight so that means I can trust you."

Despite their injuries, Confidence Heart elbowed Love Heart in the ribs, "You could have warned us, but thanks for checking at least."

"OK. Just a moment, I need to talk to the police." Loyal Heart stepped around the group and they watched as he approached the police with his arms upraised. Even Confidence Heart's head was ringing too much from her fight to hear the conversation that went on but thankfully Loyal Heart soon returned. "Good news, you can leave with me but we have to be out of here in less than an hour or you'll have to go to the police station." Loyal folded his arms and looked over the group, "Hmm…going to need something bigger than a car to get all of you back home…"

"A car?" Guidance Heart raised a hand, "what kind of car can take us to your home?"

Loyal Heart turned and motioned for them to follow him, "Over here." He showed them where the cloud car was still parked, "This is a cloud car, it let's us get to and from the Kingdom of Caring. You can't just fly up there you have to know how to find it, or have someone who does. Problem is the most I can cram into one car is five, and there eleven of us, including myself. Hmm…" Loyal Heart walked around the car, "Well this is an emergency, hold on a moment." Loyal Heart leaned back and pointed his chest symbol towards the sky. His symbol lit up and a moment later it fired off two bright replicas that flew upwards and out of sight. "Now we just have to wait. In the meantime, I'd like to get to know all of you."

"Very well," Sage Heart stepped forwards and extended a hand, "My name is Sage Heart Bear, I'm Love Heart's father."

For twenty minutes, introductions were made all around until they heard the telltale puttering of engines in the air. Everyone turned upwards to see two more Cloud Cars approaching, one driven by a brown bear and the other by an orange lion.

The Lion had a full mane around his head and stood about eye level with Love Heart as he stepped out of the car; his chest symbol was a heart with a royal crown perched on the right side. He whistled and spoke with a light southern accent, "I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it: eleven Care Bears and Care Bears cousins."

"Nice to meet you." The brown bear extended a hand towards Love Heart, who had approached, "My name is Tenderheart Bear, leader of the Care Bears." Love Heart shook Tenderheart's hand but only had a moment before Brave Heart grabbed it and shook more vigorously.

"And I'm Brave Heart Lion, leader of the Care Bear Cousins. Nice to meetcha."

Love Heart felt his hand tingle as he let go and was going to speak, but Crafty Heart beat him to the punch, "Care Bear _Cousins?_ OK why is it like that? What makes the bear so special?" she folded her arms and tapped her foot on the ground.

Tenderheart cleared his throat, "It's not really a title we came up with, Care Bear just rhymes."

"That and there a ton of bears up there but only one of every other animal, hmm." Loyal Heart stared at the ground, "You know, I never thought about it. We should ask True Heart and Noble Heart sometime."

"If they want to talk," Tenderheart said.

"Alright, enough!" Brave Heart pounded his chest, "We're wasting time here arguing about language when we should be getting the rest of you up to your welcome party." He stepped back over to his cloud car, "Everyone hop in and it's up to the Kingdom of Caring."

There were no more protests as they all climbed into the cars and took off into the sky.

OoOoO

Passion Heart stood guard for quite a while, his black two-tailed coat blowing in the wind, before Tarot Heart arrived. Tarot Heart was the youngest of the Shadow Magi, only ten years old, and completely black save for his white muzzle, chest and stomach; his chest symbol was a hand of tarot cards one of each: swords, wands, pentacles and cups.

Tarot Heart panted as he came to a stop, "Came…as…fast…as…I…could…" he looked up to Passion Heart, who turned his eyes down to look at the young bear but stayed facing the two guards.

"Yeesh, kid, why even bother?" Shatter Heart laughed.

"Stay in your hovel and let adults do the work," Blade Star stared at him coldly.

"Don't listen to them, Tarot, you're strong too," Passion's face fell, "But the rest of our family need some help. Can you wake them up with those mind powers you have?"

"My mind magic? I can try but…" Tarot Heart looked down at the unconscious group of his older friends: Snowy Heart Fox, Calm Heart Lynx, Marine Heart Otter and Flash Heart Bear.

Passion Heart finally turned around and set his axe aside. He knelt down to face Tarot Heart Bear at his eye level. "I know you can do it," he smiled, "just wake up one of them and I'll get the others home, alright?"

"OK." Tarot Heart nodded then crouched down and touched Snowy Heart's head. He took a deep breath and focused his mind on Snowy, "Wake up, wake up please." He felt a bit dizzy but finally Snowy's eyes opened.

Tarot Heart fell back on his rear panting as Snowy sat up. "Ugg, it hurts all over."

"It should," Passion helped Snowy to stand up, "looks like you took a beating. Thank Tarot Heart for waking you up."

Snowy turned and smiled as the young black bear as he got to his feet, "Thank you. Now we should get these three home."

"Yes." Passion Heart let his axe dissipate then knelt down and picked up Flash Heart, whom he slung over his shoulder, then pointed his right hand at Marine Heart and shot a black bubble at him that levitated the otter off the ground. Snowy crouched down and lifted Calm Heart up in his arms. He turned briefly to look at Shatter Heart and Blade Star, shuddered, then walked away to Calm Heart's house on a hill she had created. Passion Heart walked towards a small hut by the ocean where Marine Heart lived with Tarot Heart following after him.

Blade Start watched them go, "It would have been faster to finish them off. Nevertheless, we will do as Soul Heart commands."

Shatter Heart leaned up against the house wall, "I just hope she makes up her mind soon," He grinned, "I just hope we can settle it with those Care Bears soon."

OoOoO

The Kingdom of Caring was a wondrous sight to behold. Whether or not that sight was pleasing to the eyes depended on whose eyes they were. It was a country in the sky that floated on the clouds with a scattering of pastel colored houses, rainbow bridges and a single large re valentine shaped structure. Off to the side there was a huge forest full of vibrant green trees that swayed softly in the breeze with branches and leaves shaped into valentine hearts and five-pointed stars.

Anger Heart made a gagging noise, "Looks like a rainbow threw up."

"For once we agree on something," Defiant covered his eyes and leaned back in the front seat.

Guidance Heart giggled and leaned up against Anger Heart's shoulder, "Don't be like that, it's just fine." Anger Heart just muttered under his breath but didn't say anything else.

Sweet Heart almost stood up on the front seat, "Wow! It's made of clouds."

"That's right, and there's the Forest of Feelings," Brave Heart pointed to the sea of trees as they descended towards the runway.

"This is… I mean…" Hidden Heart stumbled over her words.

"Yep," Crafty leaned over her shoulder, "Seems pretty amazing to me."

"Are you sure this was the right call, Love Heart?" Confidence Heart leaned forwards to where Love Heart sat in the front seat.

"I think so…" Love Heart looked back at her, "Are you alright?"

"I have my limits for this stuff." Confidence Heart shuddered.

"I admit it's a bit much at times," Loyal Heart turned to look at them, "Just hold on, we're landing."

All three cloud cars came to land by the runway and everyone stepped out on the solid runway. Most of them looked nervously at the clouds that supported the structures, then Life Heart stepped forwards and onto the clouds. Sage Heart winced until he saw her walking across with no difficulty.

Life Heart smiled serenely as she turned back to face the Magi still standing on the runway. "Can you feel it? This place is saturated with magic! the air is suffused with magic!" Life Heart took a deep breath and everyone watched as her fur became brighter, "I haven't felt like this in centuries!"

A wave of energy passed through the magic as they began to feel the magic of the Kingdom of Caring settle across them.

Sweet Heart shivered, "Oooh, it feels tingly all over!" She flared out her wings for a moment, forgetting the pain where Flora had stabbed her wing.

"I feel it too, like something was missing that wasn't there." Hidden Heart spoke up, she shuddered, "I don't know how to feel about this."

"It feels good, this is where we belong," Crafty Heart stretched upwards and breathed deep, her fur brightening as she did so. Hidden watched her and she could swear she saw the coyote's breasts grow a couple centimeters as she did so.

"The same thing happened with Perfect and Polite Panda when they first came here," Tenderheart saw their looks, "long story, we'll tell you later."

"So were we in danger without this…energy up here?" Love Heart turned to Tenderheart.

"I don't think so, you were living just fine without it for years." Tenderheart said.

Confidence Heart was doing stretches too, touching her toes then reaching behind her back and leg lunges despite the pain from her injuries. "Don't worry about it, but I feel it. It's filling me up like…"

"Like filling a hole you didn't know was empty?" Guidance Heart asked.

Confidence snapped her fingers, "Exactly."

Defiant Heart had his arms folded as he breathed in the air, "It's different. Feels kinda good."

"I guess," Anger Heart sighed, then smiled, "I'll give it a shot."

"I'm definitely staying," Sage Heart walked over to Life Heart and put his arms around her, "I do feel like this is where we're supposed to be."

Life Heart giggled, "Yes, it does." They kissed.

"So now where to?" Independent Bear asked, speaking for the first time since they had

"Well that depends," Loyal Heart gave them a once over, noting how tired and even injured some of them were, "I think you should go see our doctor, Take Care Bear, and get fixed up before you meet everyone. But if you want we can go straight to the Hall of Hearts for your welcoming party."

Tenderheart raised a hand, "Actually, everyone was still setting up when we got your alert, so we should probably get the eleven of you to her clinic and give them a little more time."

"Wait…you set up a welcome party for us, before you even knew if we'd come?" Defiant Heart was incredulous.

"It was kinda spur of the moment. I'll go make sure they're on schedule," Brave Heart turned and took off towards the Hall of Hearts.

"He's right, better to make sure you're all in good shape before we celebrate," Loyal Heart motioned for them to follow him.

"OK, I'll go help them finish," Tenderheart waved as he headed towards the Hall of Hearts.

Take Care Bear was a pale-pink female Care Bear whose chest symbol was a purple smiling heart holding a star. She was a bit taken aback when Loyal Heart and eleven new Care Bears and Cousins entered her clinic's waiting room. "Oh my, I was told to expect a lot of new arrivals today but not almost a dozen." She only needed a glance to see the injuries on the new arrivals. She turned to Loyal Heart, "This will be a while, I need to give each of them a full check up, bandages and create their patient records."

"Alright, I'll call them. Mind if I stick around until they're all done?" Loyal Heart reached into his chest symbol and pulled out a cell phone that he flipped open and dialed.

"Not at all. Alright first you, umm," Take Care realized she didn't know any of their names as she looked at Sweet Heart.

"Sweet Heart Pegasus," she chirped up, "can you look at my wing, please? It still hurts," she spread her right wing, which gave Take Care a bit of a start, but she smiled and led her into the exam room.

Everyone else dropped gratefully into chairs as they waited for their turn. Loyal Heart plopped down next to Love Heart once he finished his phone call, "Birthday Bear sounded almost happy, guess he wants more time to bake a real cake." He sighed, "as long as we have time I should tell you all a few things about the Kingdom of Caring."

Life Heart raised a hand, "Shouldn't we wait for Sweet Heart to be finished?"

"You can tell her later, and I'd rather tell all the adults," Loyal turned to look at Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart, "and teenagers all at once. First we are mostly peaceful up here, I won't ask you to give up fighting or anything like that but try not to pick any fights up here."

Anger Heart bristled and was about to retort when Guidance Heart pulled him back, "He doesn't know us, Alex." Anger Heart sighed and sat backwards

Loyal Heart waited for a moment then continued, "Second, we don't have any houses ready for you so you'll have to sleep in the Hall of Hearts until we get some places ready. You'll have to talk to everyone about where you want to stay and if any of you are going to share homes." He held up a hand, "discuss later. Third is that we all practise something called 'free love' up here." Seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces, he continued, "Almost all of us don't have permanent romantic or sexual partners. We do have preferences and those we don't want to spend any personal time with but other than that there's nothing tying us down to one another in any permanent way. Everyone has their own house for that reason so think about that when you decide how you want to live."

In the silence that followed, Crafty Heart was the first to speak, though it took some effort to speak with how hard she was grinning, "So you're telling me that everyone here just sleeps around with everyone else and there's no hard feelings anywhere?"

Loyal Heart gave her a glare, "We don't just 'sleep around' but there's no pressure to settle down with just one other person, unless you want to."

Crafty leaned back with a happy sigh, "I'm gonna love it up here."

Loyal Heart gave her a somewhat disgusted look, "Don't just proposition someone when you see them, Crafty."

"I don't think I'll be… participating in that practise," Guidance Heart twiddled her fingers together.

Anger Heart put an arm around her shoulder, "Agreed."

"Aw come one, live a little," Crafty was still grinning as she elbowed Guidance Heart softly. She just blushed and turned to Anger Heart.

Thankfully, Take Care returned with Sweet Heart at that moment to dispel the awkwardness. Sweet Heart had a bandage on her wing and a sucker in her mouth. "Now just keep that on for tonight and I'll take a look tomorrow, alright?"

"OK. Thanks Doctor Take Care." Sweet Heart trotted back to sit by her parents.

"Who's next?" Take Care scanned the room.

Confidence stood up, "I am. I gotta get these looked at," She indicated the bite on her left arm and all the punctures and scratches she had taken from her battle with Marine Heart."

"Oh my, those do look serious. Let's get them looked at," Take Care led Confidence back into the exam room.

"So I gotta ask," Crafty gave Loyal a questioning look, "how many kids do you have running around here. I mean if you're as free with sex as you say then…" She gave a coy smile.

Loyal Heart looked over to Sweet Heart, who was just sitting next to Life Heart and kicking her feet as she waited, "Shouldn't we…tone down the descriptions with Sweet Heart here?"

"She knows what you're talking about," Sage Heart ruffled Sweet Heart's short hair, who just *gacked* and pushed her dad's hand away while giggling, "We told her what sex is a while ago so don't be afraid."

Loyal Heart was a bit taken aback but he accepted that and answered the question, holding up his right index and middle fingers, "Two, Hugs and Tugs Bear. They're actually about your age, Sweet Heart."

"Really?" Sweet Heart perked up.

"Really, only two?" Crafty gave Loyal Heart a hard stare, "Any on the way at least?"

Loyal Heart shook his head, "None and we don't know why. No matter what's happened we've been unable to have any children since Hugs and Tugs were born, granted," Loyal Heart folded his arms, "such encounters were rare until about a year ago but even so none of the girls have been able to conceive."

"Wait, are most Care Bears infertile?" Guidance Heart drooped little.

Loyal shook his head, "No. We asked Take Care once and she said there wasn't anything wrong with any of us that would prevent conception, even Noble Heart and True Heart have been unable to have another kid since they had Hugs and Tugs."

"And that can't be it, because I have children," Life Heart's voice drew Loyal Heart's attention. Life Heart smiled towards first Love Heart then Sweet Heart. "Love Heart and Sweet Heart are my children."

Loyal gaped slightly, "Your real children?"

"Very much so. I remember their pregnancies and birth very clearly and now," she rubbed her still growing baby bump, "I have another on the way, almost six months now."

"That's…I mean," Loyal Heart was cut off when Confidence Heart emerged, her injuries covered in bandages but looking otherwise fine.

"Yeesh this itches," she groused slightly.

"Alright, who wants to go next?" Take Care asked from the door.

"I will," Life Heart stood up and followed Take Care into the exam room.

OoOoO

Flash Heart finally woke up, his body sore all over but lying on something soft

"You OK?" at the sound of the voice, Flash Heart pushed himself up into a sitting position on his couch then turned to face the owner of the voice, Tarot Heart Bear.

Flash Heart tried to smile then winced at the pain, "No, my whole body hurts. Let my guard down against Love Heart. Didn't think he'd be that strong." He looked at the black bear curiously then smiled, "Did you just stay to keep me company?"

"Kinda," Tarot Heart shuffled his feet, "I didn't want to keep listening to my imaginary friends."

Flash Heart turned serious, "Your imaginary friends?"

"I know, they aren't real but I can't stop them, and I like talking to you more," Tarot Heart looked up.

Flash Heart shook his head, "No. You're psychic remember? Those imaginary friends of yours are probably spirits trying to talk to you."

"Should I talk to them?" Tarot Heart looked worried.

Despite his pain and exhaustion, Flash Heart stood up and walked around his coffee table to Tarot Heart, knelt down and put a hand on the young bear's shoulder, "Listen and talk to them if you want, but if any of them tell you to do something you don't want to do then come talk to me or someone else OK?"

Tarot Heart nodded, "OK. Can I do a reading for you?"

Flash Heart smiled as he stood up and went to sit down again, "Sure. Do a reading for me, Tarot Heart."

Tarot Heart smiled and reached into his chest symbol and pulled out a deck of 78 large cards that he proceeded to shuffle. "OK, I just need to remember what mom told me."

Flash Heart watched as Tarot Heart knelt in front of the coffee table, "Don't worry, take your time."

Tarot Heart smiled back, then turned back to his cards as he shuffled them. "OK, now like this, and this…"

A couple minutes later there were a dozen cards laid face down on the table. "OK, now pick three and turn them over one at a time."

Flash Heart leaned forwards and turned one over, "Like this?"

"Yes," Tarot Heart nodded as he read the card, "The Emperor, upright. That means… authority, or a father figure. Do the next one please."

Flash Heart turned the next one over, "The Star?"

"Reversed. That means a lack of faith or despair," Tarot Heart looked worried.

Flash Heart turned over the last card while keeping his gaze on Tarot Heart.

"The Lovers, reversed. That means disharmony or imbalance." Tarot Heart sat back on the floor, "I think this is because of Soul Heart, she's our authority but we don't trust her now, and she's different and with those two scary ones…" Tarot Heart shuddered.

"Hey, it's OK." Flash Heart said. "Want to crash with me tonight?"

Tarot Heart nodded as he gathered up the cards and stowed them in his chest symbol.

"OK. Just let me rest a bit more and I'll get some food ready." Flash Heart leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, "Wish we had TV," he muttered.

OoOoO

It took three hours for Take Care to finish up on all of the Care Bear Magi, giving them check-ups, patch-ups and writing their medical records. Indy was forced to take some shots just to be safe as he was the only one who hadn't received them due to his upbringing. But finally Loyal Heart led them to the Hall of Hearts.

Even the entrance door was shaped like a valentine heart and as Loyal pushed it open the Magi were greeted by a massive banner with the words "WELCOME" painted on it in bright rainbow letters. It looked as though everyone had just finished setting up. Two of the family rushed forwards, one a female Care Bear with multicolored fur on a cream background whose chest symbol was a small pink heart inside of a multicolored star and the second was a male Care Horse whose fur had the same multicolored splotches across his body except his primary color was purple and his chest symbol was a small pink star inside a multicolored heart.

The Care Bear was the first to speak, "Hello. My name is True Heart Bear, and this is my husband: Noble Heart Horse."

Noble Heart spread his arms wide, "Welcome to the Kingdom of Caring."


	30. Free Love in the Kingdom of Caring

Chapter 30: Free Love in the Kingdom of Caring

Love Heart sat on a bench along one of the roads in the Kingdom of Caring and stared at his hands. His dull green fur having brightened up to a bright lime green during his time in the Kingdom of Caring.

"Hey Love Heart, what are you thinking about?"

Love Heart looked up to see Brave Heart Lion standing next to the bench, a tawny orange Care Lion whose chest symbol was a red heart that wore a royal crown on one side. "This place, I…"

"You've been here for a week," Brave Heart swung around to sit next to Love Heart, "So tell me, how does it all feel?"

Love Heart hummed for a moment, then sat back, "There's a lot to say. I mean just being here feels like I've woken up from a nightmare I didn't know I was having. I thought the grove I used to live in was magic rich but this place…" Love Heart took a deep breath as though he were drinking in the air like a rich wine, "It just feels so different, so energizing." Love Heart stood up and held up his hands as lightning coursed across his body then the jumped forwards and shot his right hand forwards which sent a massive bolt of lightning off into the sky.

"Whoa!" Brave Heart recoiled on the bench.

Love Heart chuckled, "Sorry, but that would have been draining if I was still on Earth," he sat back down on the bench, "Mom said this is what it felt like when magic was common on earth. I can see it too, everyone's just become more colourful now."

"I can see that," Brave Heart chuckled, "All of you just lit up since you came here. Sorry we're taking so long with the houses, didn't expect almost a dozen new members all at once."

"It's fine, we can manage in the Hall of Hearts for now," Love Heart said.

"Anger Heart's really thrown himself into helping build his own house. Didn't think I'd meet anyone that young so good at building," Brave Heart turned his head to face Love Heart, "So what do you think of everything else up here."

Love Heart sighed, "I won't lie: it's an assault on the eyeballs but I'm getting used to it. Even Confidence thinks things are too colorful up here, but everyone's really nice…maybe too nice…"

"Oh?" Brave Heart tilted his head to one side, "Something wrong with that?"

Love Heart coughed once then spoke, "I wouldn't say 'wrong' but it's…different." Love Heart stared at the ground, "When I was growing up it was just mom and dad who loved each other, then I saw Confidence's parents happy together and a lot more couples down there. I mean…how does it even work up here?"

Brave Heart smiled, "Simple, we don't overthink it because we don't need to overthink it. We all love each other and we let ourselves express that love however we want with whoever we want as long as everyone involved agrees to it. We'd never force anyone to do anything they didn't want to."

"Still…" Love Heart sat up, "I'm going to need time to adjust or to decide if I even want to do this, and I have no idea how the others feel."

"Well I'll tell you then, I feel great!" Crafty Heart Coyote's voice startled both of them. She had appeared between Love Heart and Brave, leaning over the back of the beach, folding her arms and letting her breasts hang over the backrest. She grinned, "I feel more like myself than ever!"

Brave Heart turned to face her and laughed, "Happy to hear it. You said you used to be human, right Crafty?"

Crafty stood up and walked around to the front of the bench, "I did, but I don't want to talk about that right now," she looked Brave Heart up and down and growled softly, "You look good, Brave Heart Lion."

Brave Heart chuckled and stood up, flexing his arms at his sides, "Like what you see?"

Crafty squeezed Brave Heart's bicep, "Definitely. Do you like what _you_ see?" She spun once in place then folded her arms under her breasts, "Don't worry, you can touch."

Brave Heart grinned and took her hand, "I do like it. Have you grown in the last week?"

Crafty giggled then pulled on his arm and spun until she had her back pressed up against the lion's chest; the top of her head coming to rest just under his chin, "I have," she contracted her shoulders, squeezing her breasts together, "I bumped up a couple sizes. Do you like it."

"I do," Brave Heart leaned his head forwards. "I can see you're a fan of free love."

"I am, though I don't have any real experience," Crafty blushed slightly but it faded after a moment.

"Really? Someone pretty like you, or were you just not interested?" Brave Heart asked.

Crafty sighed, then turned her head to look sidelong at him, "I don't want to kill the mood, Brave Heart. Maybe I'll tell you after you show me how free love works," she growled seductively.

"Deal. Shall we return to my cave?" Brave Heart put his left arm around the small of her back and gestured towards the forest with his free arm.

Crafty giggled as they started to walk, "You live in a cave?"

Brave Heart chuckled, "I have a house inside of it. You won't have to lie on stone."

"I see," Crafty leaned on Brave Heart, "So speaking about free love do you have any favorites?"

"Proud Heart Cat, Harmony Bear and Gentle Heart Lamb. Maybe you too once I show you the ropes." Brave Heart said. He reached around her front and fondled one of her breasts, "I think you're as big as Cheer now."

Crafty giggled, "Thanks, and we'll see," Crafty teased.

Love Heart just sat in stunned silence as the two disappeared into the Forest of Feelings. Once they were gone he stood up, "At least she's happy. I'm gonna need more time to adjust."

OoOoO

Confidence Heart had found the gym in Care-a-Lot and was going through the paces of a Karate warm-up routine in her white gi and black belt with her hair wound up into a braided bun until she was done. Her hair and fur were still sandy in color but had brightened up to dry sand as opposed to the "wet sand" color she had before. She jabbed at the air, kicked and panted as she came to a stop, one fist extended towards the ground.

"Not bad, sports fan."

Confidence Heart turned towards the voice to see Champ Bear, a golden yellow bear wearing a red sports headband and red letter jacket and whose chest symbol was a yellow trophy with a red heart in the center.

"How long were you watching?" Confidence asked as she stepped towards the weight machines.

"Just a couple minutes, we wanted to see what you were up to. Karate?" the voice came from Cheer Bear, a pink care bear with a rainbow for a chest symbol who had her medium length hair done up in a ponytail and wore an unbuttoned yellow blouse.

Confidence nodded set the bench press to 100 kilograms and lay down. "Yeah, I'm just happy there's a full gym up here." She grunted as she pushed up.

Champ walked over and whistled, "Damn, that's good, almost as good as my record."

Confidence stopped for a moment, "What's yours?"

"115 kilograms, but that's nothing compared to Lotsa Heart. He can do 200 easy but he never pushes himself so we don't know what his real limit is."

"Yeeeesh!" Confidence let out her breath as she pushed up on the press again. "Gotta try and catch up."

"Mind if we work out with you?" Cheer asked.

"Free gym, knock yourself out." Confidence replied.

Champ laughed, "Hopefully it won't be that bad."

It was three hours later that they finally finished and headed for the change room and showers. "Co-ed, not surprised," Confidence commented as she stripped off her gi.

"Why wouldn't it be, sport's fan?" Champ had already hung up his jacket and grabbed a towel from the supply.

"You're asking someone who suffered through four years of high school," Confidence undid both hair ties and let her hair fall free down to the middle of her back.

Cheer gawked, "Holy cow! Your hair I..."

"What?" Confidence turned to see Cheer huffing; her hair was also down but only to her shoulders.

"How is your hair so long! How do you keep it so nice and...?" Cheer seemed stuck for words.

"I had to learn a lot about hair care, excuse me." Confidence grabbed her bag of shower supplies and headed into the showers and left Cheer and Champ alone in the change room.

Champ put his hands on Cheer's shoulders from behind, "Are you OK, Cheer?"

"No I'm not," Cheer stamped her foot, "I mean first that coyote, Crafty Heart, shows up and catches up to me and Love-a-Lot," she cupped her large breasts for emphasis, "And now I finally get a good look at Confidence and her hair is just so long and healthy and…" she ran her hand though her hair, "How does she do that? I have to keep cutting it when I get split ends!"

"Why don't you go and ask her?" Champ leaned forwards, his hands drifting down her sides, "I mean haven't you been saying you wish you had a girl friend who was into the same things you were. Maybe you can share hair care tips."

"Maybe…" Cheer idly played with the ends of her hair.

"Give her a chance, same with Crafty. Don't get jealous over stuff, it's not an attack on you." Champ gave her sides a squeeze.

"OK, saaaay," Cheer turned her head to give Champ a questioning look, "You're not just saying that because you find her attractive are you?"

"Maaaaybe?" Champ chuckled, "What's wrong with that. I mean don't you have a thing for Bright Heart after he tried so hard to impress you during that sports day, and Grumpy Bear after you spent all that time to cheer him up."

Cheer blushed and giggled, "OK you have a point," she gave him a kiss, "Just make sure she's into you too."

Confidence was scrubbing her hair down with her own bottle of shampoo when Cheer walked up next to her. Now that she could see what Confidence was doing she could only stare for a moment. "I see how you keep it so long. Want some help, Confidence?"

"I'd like some, thanks," Confidence let her hair fall back into its natural resting place, "Con you put the conditioner in while I clean up, please?"

"Of course," Cheer whistled when she saw the conditioner and shampoo bottles Confidence had brought in, which were large enough to have a pump nozzle instead of just squeezed. "I'm impressed," she said as she pumped out a large glob on conditioner and carefully rubbed it into Confidence's hair, "You do this every day?"

"I have to, unless I want to start wearing it shorter." Confidence finished scrubbing her body down, "Are you done?"

"Almost…there!" Cheer stepped back.

"Thanks. Want any help with your hair?" Confidence turned around.

"Sure, if you use your shampoo on me," Cheer turned her back to Confidence Heart. Confidence rolled her eyes but squirted some shampoo out and started massaging it into Cheer's hair.

"I've never done this for someone else before." Confidence looked up to see Champ walk over to a shower stall, "This still feels weird to me."

"What, the co-ed locker room?" Cheer asked, keeping her head still as Confidence worked.

"That and all of this, but it's still easier than dealing with high school. I guess that was part of the problem though…" Confidence sighed, "OK, I'm done."

"Thanks." Cheer turned back to face Confidence as she washed the conditioner out of her hair and set about washing it again. "You know you don't have to be nervous about things up here. We're all pretty open about…well most everything," Cheer giggled.

Confidence wiped the shampoo off her face and blinked as Cheer closed the distance between them, "What do you mean?"

"Well… Champ was watching you pretty intently when he could out there, I think he likes you, I might like you too," Cheer had walked up close and leaned forwards, pressing her breasts up against Confidence's.

"I see. I'll need to think about that." Confidence stepped back then grabbed her shower supplies and hurried back to the changing room.

"Real subtle Cheer," Champ rolled his eyes but smiled as he approached.

"What? Either I scared her off or she's going to consider it. Either way I think it's a win," Cheer gave Champ a kiss.

Champ kissed back, "So are you into her?"

Cheer scratched her chin, then moved to rinse out her hair, "Maaaaybe. I think I'll share some hair care tips with her before I decide."

Confidence was dried and out side moments later, her Gi and shower supplies tucked into the gym bag Grams has sewed for her. "Yeesh, they weren't kidding about 'free love'. I need to lie down." She headed for the Hall of Hearts, "Still, they're both pretty strong." She shook her head but smiled.

OoOoO

Anger Heart sat down on the ground, gulping down a bottle of ginger ale as he looked at the framework of the house he was working on in the Forest of Feelings, the colorful forest adjacent to the more urban Care-a-Lot. His fur had brightened up considerably to a fiery red with a bright white tip to his tail.

Guidance Heart dropped down next to him and smiled, "So far so good. How much longer until it's finished?" Her own fur's had changed to a deep ultramarine blue and a bright sky blue.

"Three more weeks at least, and that's before we start getting furniture." Anger Heart sighed and chugged the last of his drink.

"It's alright," Guidance put a hand on his shoulder, "The Hall of Hearts isn't that bad."

"Yeah well I'd rather have my own place too." Defiant Heart sat down a short distance away from them. His own fur had gone through the least change, though one could describe his fur as crystal white and jet black now.

Anger Heart sighed, "You don't have to help, Defiant."

"Well I want to and you didn't say no." Defiant Heart said.

Guidance Heart looked at Defiant Heart for a moment, then looked away, "We still haven't forgiven you."

"I don't expect you to. I'm doing this because I want to," Defiant Heart snapped, then turned to look at the framework. "Everyone up here's nice at least. I mean, this whole free love thing is a nice idea but I don't know how to feel about it yet."

"Honestly it doesn't matter to me," Anger Heart tossed his bottle away into a recycling box that hat been brought nearby, "I love you, Guidance, and that's all that matters," he smiled at her.

"Thank you," Guidance Heart leaned up against Anger Heart.

"Welp I'm gonna go get lunch at the Hall of Hearts, see you in an hour." Defiant stood up and walked away from the build sight.

OoOoO

Sweet Heart's fur and feathers had brightened up to a soft shade of rose as she flew over Care-a-Lot. The air was so clear and clean and everything just felt right about being up her. The wind in her wings felt as if it was helping her fly, even though she wasn't directing it herself. She came to land near Care-a-Lot's playground, right in front of the twins Hugs and Tugs, the only other children in the Kingdom of Caring. Hugs was a ten-year-old Care Bear girl with pink fur and a chest symbol of a star emerging from a heart box while Tugs was a bright blue ten-year-old Care Bear boy with a diaper holding up a star for his chest symbol.

Sweet Heart waved to them, "Hi Hugs, hi Tugs." Though she had been there a week, this was the first time she had a chance to talk to them without any grown-ups around.

"Wow, you can really fly?" Tug jumped up and darted over to her.

"Yep!" Sweet Heart spread her wings for both of them to see.

"Goodie-goodie gosh," Hugs approached cautiously, "Can I touch them?"

"Sure, just don't pull on them." Sweet Heart said.

Hugs stroked Sweet Heart's right wing feathers, then gasped as one came off at her touch, "Oh no! I'm sorry I…"

"It's OK," Sweet Heart drew her hands through her left wing and pulled two more loose feathers out, "It's something called 'molting' I have to pull old feathers out every couple weeks or they get stuck. Here," she handed the two feathers to Tugs.

"Wow, thanks," Tugs said as he accepted the feathers.

"Can I keep this?" Hugs held up the feather she'd knocked loose.

"Sure. Can I play with you?" Sweet Heart asked as she folded her wings.

"OK, what do you want to play?" Tugs asked.

"Umm…" Sweet Heart was stuck for a moment, "Tag?"

"OK!" Tugs tapped her shoulder, "You're it!" he took off at a run.

"Hey!" Sweet Heart galloped after him. Hugs laughed and joined in.

OoOoO

Independent Bear stood near the Hall of Hearts, swinging his katana as he trained. He didn't pant with any exertion but finally came to a rest with his sword in front of him. In his time in the Kingdom of Caring Indy's fur had brightened up to shimmering silver. He let his katana dissipate as Defiant Heart approached him.

"Still training?" the badger stopped to face Indy.

"Yeah. Hard not to." Indy turned to face him.

"Want to join me for lunch?" Defiant jabbed his thumb towards the entrance to the Hall.

"Sure." Indy joined in step alongside Defiant Heart.

"Why are you training so much?" Defiant asked as they grabbed lunch trays from the head of the buffet.

"Shadow Magi," was Indy's only response.

Defiant shuddered, "Yeah, I remember that."

"No, you don't." Indy's reply was terse and serious, "you only had to deal with them once last week, and you had help. I was chased by those two, Shatter Heart and Blade Star, for months, never sure where it was safe to sleep or even stop. This is the first time I've been out in the open without having to keep looking over my shoulder. Take Care thinks I might be mildly agoraphobic."

"Oh…OK," Defiant was a bit too overwhelmed by Indy's words to really respond as they loaded up their trays with grille cheese sandwiches and a bowl of tomato soup each.

Both left the buffet and spotted Loyal Heart Dog, the one who had brought them to the Kingdom of Caring, sitting with Proud Heart Cat, an orange female Care Cat with a fluffy tail whose chest symbol was a three-pronged pink crown with a small red heart at the center.

"Thank you, Loyal Heart, I needed to hear that," Proud Heart gave Loyal Heart a kiss on the cheek and stood up as Indy and Defiant approached, "Excuse me," she politely stepped aside and strode off towards the kitchen with her empty tray.

Loyal Heart still had half a bowl of soup and a sandwich left when the bear and badger joined him. "Hello. Are you two adjusting?"

"I am, though mostly to the calm," Indy said.

"I see. I'd hardly call lunch time calm." Loyal Heart dipped his sandwich in the soup bowl and bit into the red soaked corner.

"It's calm for me." Indy replied as he did the same with his food.

Defiant Heart watched Loyal Heart who had turned to watch Proud Heart as she sashayed past, her head held high and her tail swishing back and forth but never dragging on the ground. Loyal Heart sighed contentedly and his shoulders sagged.

"Is she one of your favorites?" Defiant asked, with a smirk.

Loyal Heart sighed, "I am in love with Proud Heart. She is a fair lady, sophisticated and charming but I fear that my love will go forever unfulfilled."

"Why? I thought you guys were all about 'free love' up here," Defiant made quote symbols with his fingers.

"We are, but I am an outlier." Loyal Heart turned face the two, "I am Loyal Heart Dog, and by my nature I am loyal, I would not wish to make her one of my 'favorites', indeed if I could she would be the only for me. However therein lies my problem."

"I think I can guess," Indy said.

"If your guess is that I expect the same loyalty from her, then you would be correct. If I were to choose to be with her I would wish to marry her and for us to be only for each other, but that is selfish of me. I know for a fact she embraces the free love we practise and that Brave Heart, Bright Heart, Swift Heart, Love-a-Lot and our friend Perfect down in the valley are her favorite partners. I could be part of that list if only I asked, I doubt she would turn me down and she always comes to me for advice but I do not want that. I am torn between my desire to be with her and my own feelings on the matter, I would never force her to abandon something she enjoys for my own sake, even if it has left me the only virgin adult in the Kingdom of Caring, before you arrived, and I sense that soon I shall return to being the sole virgin up here." Loyal Heart sighed sadly and dug half-heartedly into his food.

Indy and Defiant just stared at the blue dog, idly stirring his soup with the last half of his sandwich as he stared as his red reflection in the surface.

"Do you think he knows he starts talking flowery when he's talking about Proud Heart?" Defiant Heart whispered sideways to Indy.

"I'm not sure if it just happens or he's doing it on purpose," Indy replied.

Loyal Heart was too lost in his own thoughts to hear them.

Nearby, Hidden Heart Wolf quietly slipped into the cafeteria from the back of the Hall of Hearts and towards the buffet. Her own fur had brightened up to what could be called a soft smoky grey that seemed to shine, but not quite silver like Independent Bear's. She filled a bowl of soup, drank it in a single gulp, then grabbed six sandwiches and literally wolfed them down before she beat a hasty retreat back to her room. No one noticed her come and go except for Gentle Heart Lamb, a female sea green Care Sheep whose chest symbol was a heart shaped throw pillow.

"Excuse me, I think someone needs my help," Gentle Heart stood up from the table where she had been sitting with some of her friends and hurried after Hidden Heart.

Hidden Heart slammed her temporary bedroom door shut and sat down hard on her bed. She placed a hand on her chest until her breathing calmed down, only to jump to her feet as she heard a soft knock on the door.

"Hidden Heart? It's Gentle Heart Lamb. May I come in?"

Hidden Heart nodded, then realized Gentle couldn't see her and spoke, "Yes, if you want."

Gentle Heart pushed the door open slowly and stepped in. Hidden Heart was still tense as the lamb approached her, "You haven't been out of the Hall since your welcome party last week. Is everything alright?"

"I just…" Hidden rubbed her left hand, "I don't like being around a lot of people, everyone staring at me and…I'm worried they're all afraid of me." She turned away from Gentle Heart to stare at her bed, "Shouldn't you be scared of me? You're a sheep and I'm a big scary wolf."

Gentle Heart noted that despite her shyness, Hidden Heart was actually one of the tallest members of the Care Bear Family, easily standing more than a head taller than Gentle Heart herself, in fact she was about as tall as Brave Heart Lion. She carefully stepped around Hidden Heart to her right side, "You're big, but you're not scary." She carefully brushed the hair out of Hidden's right eye, "No one's scared of you, we just want to get to know you."

Hidden carefully pushed Gentle Heart's hand away but turned to face her, the hair drooping to cover her eyes again. "Are you sure…I mean…"

Gentle Heart offered her hand to Hidden Heart, "I'm not much for people either but I can show you around if you like."

Hidden Heart smiled and took Gentle's hand, "OK, I'll try."

"That's all we ask," Gentle Heart smiled back, "The lunch crowd will be cleared out in a few minutes, if you want to wait."

"That would be nice." Hidden sat down on her bed, "So can you tell me more about this 'free love' idea you have up here?"

Gentle Heart smiled and sat down next to Hidden, "Of course. It's all about being able to love one another without being jealous," she giggled, "Actually I was the one who suggested it after Bright Heart showed me a book about such societies on Earth when I saw some of us getting jealous about attraction to each other," she shuffled her feet, "It took a while at first, some of us got mad, but eventually it all just slid into place. It took too much effort to be jealous and without any need to settle down we were all able to enjoy it. Maybe because no one was telling us we needed to pick just one mate to settle down with."

"It sounds nice," Hidden Heart leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, "I don't know if I could ask anyone though…I mean…"

"What if someone asked you?" Gentle Heart's hand creeped over to Hidden Heart's.

Hidden Heart blushed a deep crimson, "You're asking…I mean…you like…" she found it hard to form the words.

Gentle Heart was blushing as well, "Girls? Well I'm open to trying something, I've never been with another woman before, the other girls up here are very…assertive and they kinda scare me."

"Oh, I…" Hidden Heart gulped, "Do you want to…now I mean…"

"It would give us something to do while we wait for everyone to clear out," Gentle Heart smiled and walked her hand up to Hidden's shoulder, "If you don't want to I won't force you."

Hidden Heart carefully brushed aside the hair over her right eye and up behind her ear, "I'm willing to try if you're gentle."

Gentle Heart giggled then gave Hidden Heart a soft kiss on the cheek, "I promise I will, Gentle's my name after all."

OoOoO

While everyone else was taking lunch in the Hall of Hearts, Sage Heart Bear and Life Heart Unicorn had gone to Noble Heart and True Heart's house to eat with the other couple. Sage Heart's fur had become a bright iridescent blue while Life Heart's moss green fur had become softer and lighter but still maintained the same hue, somehow.

True Heart set down the cup of coffee she was drinking from, "So how far along are you, Life Heart?"

Life Heart patted her baby bump, which looked like she had when at full term with Love Heart or Sweet Heart, "Six months, and Take Care told me I'm having twins."

"That's wonderful!" Sage Heart put an arm around Life Heart and kissed her.

"The second birth in the entire Kingdom of Caring," Noble Heart smiled, then sighed, "I wish we knew why no one else can have children, even we tried again after Hugs and Tugs but nothing worked."

"Take Care said we were all healthy enough," True Heart shook her head, "we've adjusted at least, no one else seems to mind except us."

"Actually, after you told me about that I decided to see if there was a magical reason," Life Heart had already finished her meal, despite taking as much as the other three combined.

"Was there?" True Heart asked.

Life Heart nodded, "Yes. Someone placed a powerful curse on your family about ten years ago, a curse of infertility. It affects every member of our species except me," Life Heart placed a hand on her chest, "I'm a unicorn, even as a Care Animal I'm immune to curses, though my children are not."

"So we can never have children again?" Noble Heart's ears drooped.

Life Heart smiled and shook her head, "Not at all. The curse is powerful but I can remove it. However…" she paused.

Sage Heart looked to her, "Will it hurt anyone?"

"No…it's just. Once I remove the curse it will be removed for everyone. Everyone in the Care Bear Family will be able to have children, and I don't know if they want to." Life Heart took a deep breath before she continued, "I've see how everyone lives up here, how free they are with sex and relationships and I'm afraid that removing the curse will do more harm than good. Suddenly they won't be able to just be free with their lives anymore, have to be careful and might cause a baby boom no one up here is ready for."

"Then don't remove it just yet," Sage Heart said, "We can tell everyone about it and put it to a vote, or let everyone think about if they want it or not."

"That's sounds like the best option," True Heart nodded, "We can get everyone together tonight or tomorrow if you want."

"Thank you, yes tomorrow would be good," Life Heart nodded.


	31. Discovery

Chapter 31: Discovery

The island where the Shadow Magi lived was in the Atlantic Ocean hidden behind a wall of magic; any ships that might have crashed into it were diverted by a sudden thought by the helmsmen and anyone who looked at it would see nothing but a flat useless piece of land, except for the Shadow Magi. The island itself was divided up according to each of their preferred living conditions. Marine Heart Otter lived in what looked like a fisher's hut on the island's main beach.

Marine Heart dove under the water and spiraled around, enjoying the feeling of the water flowing through his fur as he grabbed a sea urchin that he flew nearby, consuming it and three others in the same manner. He passed by a small field and stopped, sniffing then lowering his head to brush the mud with his whiskers then digging in the mud until he unearthed a batch of clams. He grinned and pulled out half a dozen of them before swimming on. Finally, he found what he was looking for: a large crab. Marine Heart licked his lips and snatched up the crab, avoiding its pinching claws, then swam back up to the surface, snatching fish around him as he headed upwards.

Flora was waiting for Marine on the beach with an arm full of berries as the otter stepped on the shore, arms folded and holding the pouch on his chest shut.

"Good fishing today?" Flora asked.

"It's just right for me, perfect food too." Marine grinned as he stepped over to a large, flat rock embedded in the ground, but still on the sand. He dumped the contents of his natural pouch onto the rock. "Got some fish for you too."

Flora giggled, "You're sweet," she gave him a kiss on the cheek, Marine responded with a playful nip to her nose.

Flora picked up a fish and bit into it as Marine spotted the crab trying to scuttle away. "Not so fast." He grabbed the crab and bit into its shell. He spat out the hard pieces as the crab stopped moving then bit into the tasty flesh inside.

Flora ate her fish, along with the berries she collected, and watched as Marine finished off the crab then picked up one of the clams and rapidly smashed its shell open before eating the insides.

"Feeling better?" the voice came from Flash Heart as he approached the couple.

Flora swallowed, "Much better."

Marine Heart tossed the last empty clam shell away, "So what brings you here?"

Flash stood next to the rock table, "We need to talk, all of us. Meet at my house when you're done here."

"Is everyone going to be there?" Flora asked.

"Everyone, except Soul Heart and the two freaks," Flash Heart turned to face Soul Heart's massive house. He sighed then turned back to the couple, "Just make your way there when you can, I've seen everyone else already today."

"OK, I'll be there," Flora stood up.

Marine took her hand and stood up alongside her, "Me too."

OoOoO

Everyone was gathered around Flash Heart's coffee table as he paced around the room: Passion Heart Wolverine, Marine Heart Otter, Flora Bear, Snowy Heart Fox, Calm Heart Lynx and little Tarot Heart Bear who sat between Passion and Snowy on the couch. Flash Heart checked each of them for injuries before he began.

"We have a problem, and it's about Soul Heart."

"Yeah, we noticed," Passion Heart leaned back on the couch.

"She's been locked up in her house all week, guarded by those two…thugs," Calm Heart shuddered.

Flash Heart nodded then turned to face the room, "Things didn't feel right when she ordered us to find and bring back any Care Bears we could find, or kill them, but I couldn't say no to her and I thought it would make sense when we brought them here. Then those two, Shatter Heart and Bladed Star, just showed up out of nowhere and behave like emotionless robots, except when Shatter Heart goes nuts, following her orders and threatening our lives whenever they have the chance." Flash Heart folded his arms and stared at the ground.

"Yeah, mom's been scary ever since you went to the castle," Tarot Heart kicked his legs on the couch. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Now that you mention it, that's when she started to change," Snowy's Heart's expression became grim.

"And when I started getting headaches," Calm Heart had a hand to her forehead, "They started up again recently."

"So what do we do about this?" Marine Heart asked.

Flash Heart stepped over to a window and opened the shutter (none of their windows had glass) to stare towards Soul Heart's house, then shut it again, "For now we need to retrain and rest. If mom doesn't come out in a couple days then I'm going to that castle to see if anything there can tell me what happened."

OoOoO

"Alright everyone, please quiet down!" True Heart shouted over the usual pre-meeting din in the Hall of Hearts. Noble Heart had to resort to banging a heart-shaped gavel on a similarly shaped spot to restore order.

True Heart smiled at her husband, "Thank you. Now then everyone: it's been a week since our new family members, the Care Bear Magi, have joined us. I see you've all gotten along quite well, some more than others, and I am happy to see that. I do have good news, at least I consider it good news: Life Heart Unicorn has discovered why none of us have been able to have children ever since Hugs and Tugs were born. Life Heart?" True Heart turned to the Unicorn.

Life Heart stood up, hand on her pregnant belly, and took a deep breath. "When True Heart and Noble Heart told me about the seeming infertility of all our kind I felt the need to investigate if there was a magical reason, and there is. About ten years ago someone put a powerful curse of infertility on the Care Bear Family, affecting everyone whether they lived up here or on earth. I know you're wondering 'how are you pregnant then' it's because I'm a unicorn and I cannot be affected by curses, but the rest of you are."

There were a few murmurs in the assembly and at least one person saying, "No-Heart" in a grumbling voice.

Life Heart waited until Noble Heart restored order before she continued, "The good news if that I can remove this curse, it will take some time and effort but I can remove it, but this isn't selective, at least not at the moment. If I removed it now, then it would have to be removed for everyone and I'm sure you know what that means. I've seen how you all live up here and I don't want to disrupt that without getting all of your opinions."

"You don't have to decide now," Sage Heart stood up alongside his wife, "think about it and maybe we'll put this to a vote or just hear everyone's opinion before we decide. Thank you for listening." Conversation erupted as the Magi's founders sat down.

OoOoO

Soul Heart lay face down on her bed, hands on her head and arguing with herself.

"This is wrong! We can't keep doing this!"

" _ **No! We Must! We can not leave this job undone!"**_

"All I want to do is talk to him. We're not going to fight him!"

" _ **If you won't fight them then I will find another means to do so! You will not win!"**_

"I will! No matter the cost!"

OoOoO

It was later in the afternoon when Love Heart had taken the rest of the Care Magi out to a large expanse between the rest of the Kingdom of Caring and the Caring Castle, a dust rundown place that had once served as their home when they first arrived here. Confidence Heat Fennec, Anger Heart Fox, Guidance Heart Raccoon, Defiant Heart Badger, Crafty Heart Coyote and Hidden Heart Wolf stood in a line in front of Love Heart and Independent Bear.

"Alright everyone, now that you've all had a week to relax it's time to start training." Love Heart held up his hand, "I'm sure you've all felt how different this place it, how the magic flows more freely and how energized you feel and how you've changed."

"I'll say, look up at me," Crafty Heart grinned then put her arms behind her head and stretched, pushing her chest forwards.

"That's not the point, Crafty," Indy was un-phased by Crafty's display while Love Heart coughed slightly.

"He's right. Up here the magic flows into us and around us much more freely," Love Heart held up a hand, a field of blue lightning contained within it, "We can get stronger and learn magic faster here than we could on Earth. So for at least five hours a day I need to drill you all hard and get you up to speed. Those 'shadow magi' are still out there and who knows when they'll show up again, not to mention the other monsters out there: No-Heart and Cold Heart. I need to get the six of you into a better fighting form before that happens."

Confidence smirked and folded her arms, "I don't think that should be a problem, I took out Passion Heart and Marine Heart no problem."

"Actually you barely survived both times," Love Heart's face and voice shifted to one of concern, "I'd feel better if you let me train you more than just relying on what you already know."

Confidence sighed, then smiled, "Alright, Love Heart, I will."

Love Heart turned to Hidden Heart, "You'll need some basic magical instruction while Indy and I work with everyone else. You should go see mom to get some lessons while she's still able."

"O…OK," Hidden Heart nodded then stepped back from the group and ran back towards Care-a-Lot.

Crafty watched her go and whistled, "Damn, she runs fast."

"Focus," Anger Heart tapped his foot, his two tails twitching in irritation, "So what do we do now?"

"First, try and conjure your elements like you've done before, but really push yourselves as hard as you can," Love Heart said. To show what he meant he held up both hands and conjured a massive field of electricity in-between his hands. Guidance Heart shielded her eyes from the brightness until the lightning finally disappeared. "I'll be training alongside you too."

"Alright let's try it," Anger Heart held up his right hand and tried to conjure fire, only to nearly fall over when a pillar of fire erupted from his hand, "WHOA!" The fire shut off and he stood on shaky legs, "Damn, I could feel that stuff flowing into me."

"Will it stay with us when we leave?" Guidance Heart held up a hand and conjured up a bright field of light, almost blinding her until she shut it off.

"Maybe not at that intensity, but our power grows here exponentially so we need to take advantage of it." Indy said.

"Well then, let's get started," Defiant Heart clapped his hands together.

OoOoO

Hidden Heart poked her head into Life Heart's room to find her sitting on her bed, alone, "Can I come in?"

"Of course, come in." Life patted the spot beside her bed.

Hidden Heart stayed at the door, "Love Heart said you can teach me the basics before he starts training me. Can you, please?"

Life Heart nodded and carefully stood up, "We can get started outside, just to be safe." She walked towards the door, then stopped next to the wolf. "Is something wrong?"

Hidden Heart didn't realise the nervousness on her face as she looked up at Life Heart, "Are you going to teach me to fight like Sage Heart and Crafty Heart?"

"Not entirely. I'll be teaching you the basics then Love Heart can take over."

"I…" Hidden Heart twiddled her finger, "I don't want to fight like that. But I still want to help, somehow… I just don't know how…"

Life Heart put a hand on her shoulder, "There are other ways to learn and use magic, I can teach you spell magic if you want."

"Spell magic?" Hidden Heart's expression became curious.

"It's magic where you need to prepare spells and cast the with specific phrases or words." Life Heart said, "It takes longer to learn and leaves you vulnerable but it lets you do more things on your own, especially if you have someone to protect you."

"Like Crafty did," Hidden Heart whispered. "I'd like to learn to spell magic."

"Alright then," Life Heart returned to her bed and sat down, "sit down and I can start teaching you."

OoOoO

Despite all the work and sweat, Crafty still had tons of energy after the Magi finished their training. She grinned and forced herself between Love Heart and Confidence Heart as they walked back to the Hall of Hearts. "That was fun, so now what?" she looked from one to the other.

"Right now: supper then some rest" Love Heart swiped his forehead.

"May I join you then?" Crafty waggled her eyebrows at both of them.

Confidence Heart gently pushed Crafty away, "As much as I appreciate the thought, I'm still easing into this."

"I still don't know if I want to take part in this 'free love' idea," Love Heart said.

Crafty stuck out her tongue then picked up her pace, "Fine, but if you change your mind you know who to call!" She practically skipped off towards the Hall of Hearts.

Love Heart and Confidence sat down in a corner of the Hall after getting supper, pizza and ceasar salad.

"Mind if I join you?" Both looked up to see Harmony Bear standing next to their table with a tray of food in her hand, albeit much smaller than the piles of food the two magi had amassed. Harmony was a dark purple Care Bear with short hair the same color, a decent sized bust and a chest symbol that consisted of a group four rainbow colored eighth notes linked together on four bar scale without a clef.

"Go ahead," Love Heart gestured to the chair opposite him, which Harmony sat down in.

"I saw you training out there, good job keeping them all in line not to mention the lightshow," Harmony gave a subtle smirk as she ate.

Love Heart couldn't help but chuckle and smile, "Thank you."

"So how do you keep them in line?" Harmony asked.

Love Heart paused for a moment and swallowed before he answered, "Mostly it's what happened with the Shadow Magi on Earth. They want to be able to fight if they show up again, and I can show them what they could do if they keep trying." Love Heart was stumbling over his words a bit as he spoke.

Harmony smiled, "Awesome." Confidence continued to eat but just rolled her eyes.

"Well I'll catch you later. Call me, Love Heart," Harmony winked at him as she picked her now empty tray and headed off.

Confidence turned sideways and leaned her elbow on the table, propping up her head as she smirked at Love Heart.

Love Heart noticed out of the corner of his eye and turned to face her, "What?"

"You enjoyed flirting with her didn't you." Confidence didn't ask.

Love Heart chuckled, "Yeah I did. Are you jealous?"

"A bit, but don't let me stop you." She sat back up, "Yesterday, Cheer was all over me at the gym. In the shower, she helped me with my hair then walked right up to me and pressed her boobs right up against mine."

Love Heart had his mouth full and sputtered somewhat, needing to run off and grab a glass of water to clear his throat. He was still coughing a bit when he returned to the table, "What?"

"You heard me." Confidence had finished her food so she kept talking as Love Heart ate, "I think we should give this free love thing more of a try. You?"

Love Heart swallowed, "I never really thought about it, the Shadow Magi have been on my mind mostly. But you know," he turned to watch Harmony Bear as she swayed her hips, dancing to a tune from an MP3 player she had produced from her chest symbol, "I think I could give it a try."

"Yeah, and even then," Confidence took his hand.

"We'll always have each other," Love Heart leaned in and they kissed.

Confidence giggled, "Well then, I'm going to see Champ." She picked up her tray, "You?"

Love Heart finished off his food, "I'll see if Harmony's free."

As Love Heart bussed his tray, he ran into Hidden Heart Wolf, who had taken her meal to her room. "How'd mom's instructions go?"

"Oh well…" Hidden fidgeted nervously, "I talked with her for a bit and she said she's going to teach me spell magic, using words and stuff instead of just shooting it like you do."

"Really?" Love Heart gave her a skeptical look, "Well if you change you're mind I'll still teach you kinetics. Excuse me," he turned and headed after Harmony, who had just exited the hall.

Hidden Heart ate at the buffet when she saw Crafty Heart enter the Hall of Hearts, her pace a bit shaky after her day of training and having overindulged in skipping into the hall. Hidden Heart blushed upon seeing her, tried to avert her gaze and almost crashed right into Gentle Heart.

"Sorry!" Hidden Heart stumbled back.

Gentle Heart steadied her, "It's alright." she looked closer at the wolf's blush, "Are you alright?"

"Oh umm…" Hidden Heart looked back over her shoulder at Crafty as the coyote grabbed a tray then back to Gentle Heart, "Just…thank you for last night. It was a good first time."

"Happy to help," Gentle Heart looked over her shoulder to where Hidden Heart had glanced, "Does Crafty Heart make you nervous?"

"Sort of…I mean…I'm not scared of her but…" Hidden Heart stared at her feet and wrung her hands.

Gentle Heart motioned to a nearby empty table and they sat down next to each other. "Can you tell me what's wrong, please? You don't have to but I think talking will help."

Hidden Heart looked up at Crafty again as she walked the length of the buffet, "The first time we met, she saved my life, took me back to the Magi and gave me a home," the blush on her face turned crimson, "She gave me a life and now I'm here, in a place where I can be what I want and love, or make love, to any girl I want without being told it's wrong, or against some entity's wishes or anyone being scared of me just because I'm a big bad wolf. It's all too much to take in and…I want to thank her but she's so…"

"Aggressively friendly?" Gentle Heart looked up at Crafty as she reached the end of the buffet, "And slow to pick out food. That or she just loves it too much, same with other people," Gentle Heart giggled.

Hidden Heart blinked, "Pardon?"

"Brave Heart told me this morning, he asked to spend the night with her. She accepted and took to his lessons to in loving quite well, Brave Heart is a very good teacher," Gentle Heart blushed slightly then shook it off and continued, "And this morning, before the meeting, I saw her slip off to her room with Love-a-Lot." She saw that Hidden Heart's face had turned a bright crimson and took her hand to pull her back down to earth, "Are you saying you don't want to sleep with her?"

"No! I mean yes! I…" Crafty Heart gulped and reorganized her thoughts, "I want to have sex with her but I don't want that to just be it." She didn't notice when Gentle Heart looked up over her head and just continued, "I want us to have a more…meaningful relationship and everyone up here treats sex so casually that if I just ask her, won't it just be a simple thing for fun without any real meaning behind it?"

Gentle Heart put a finger to her lips in a 'shush' motion then looked down to Hidden Heart as the wolf raised her gaze to meet the lamb's, "Let me tell you something. When you share a deeper connection with someone, beyond the physical, lovemaking becomes more than just something fun or to blow off steam. It's hard to explain but… while I enjoy Brave Heart's skill and company, when I'm with Bright Heart Raccoon," Gentle Heart sighed contentedly, "It's like magic. I can't put it into words but you'll know it when it happens to you. It's like doing any other thing with someone you really love: playing a game or watching a movie with friends is fun but doing it alongside someone you love warms you right down to your core," Gentle Heart touched her chest, right over her chest symbol, "even when it's something so simple if you're doing it with someone who means something to you, even if you're not as into it as they are, then it feels like the most wonderful thing you can imagine."

"So maybe our relationship could be something like that." Crafty Heart's voice nearly made Hidden Heart jump out of her seat as the coyote sat down next to her. Crafty leaned sideways on the table and gave a sultry smile to Hidden Heart, "You could have told me anytime."

"I-I-I," Hidden Heart gulped, "How long were you…"

"Listening? Since about the time you said you wanted to have sex with me." Crafty set her food aside and Gentle Heart quietly excused herself while Crafty spoke, "I heard what you said about wanting it to mean more, and I get it. I know I'm having all the fun I can up here but I just have so much opportunity that I want to live it to the fullest." Crafty reached to carefully brush away the shock of hair that always covered Hidden Heart's right eye, "If you want to have a more meaningful relationship, we can start now and go at your pace."

"OK," Hidden Heart smiled.

Crafty leaned forwards and whispered huskily into Hidden's ear, "And even if we don't go that way, I'm always up for a romp under the bedsheets."

Hidden blushed but said nothing. Crafty grinned and sat back, "So tell me, what is it you like about me?"

Hidden Heart smiled, "Well you're brave and outgoing and friendly, you jumped in to save me without even knowing who I was and brought me here." She put a hand on Crafty's, "And you're never afraid to say or do whatever you want no matter what people think of you, I really admire that about you."

It was Crafty's turn to blush but she remained steadfast instead of withdrawing. "And I like that you're honest too, even if it's about being shy. You're gentle and sweet and always put someone else's comfort ahead of your own. That's what I like about you." Crafty leaned in and gave Hidden Heart a peck on the cheek. Hidden Heart responded with a soft kiss on Crafty's cheek.

Crafty cleared her throat, which dispelled her blush, "Now show me that honesty I like so much and tell me what else you like about me. Don't be afraid to be shallow," she grinned.

Hidden Heart blushed again and muttered something under her breath.

Crafty cupped a hand up to her ear, but kept grinning, "What was that? Go on?"

Hidden Heart took a deep breath but managed to speak without shouting, "I like girls with big boobs!"

Crafty turned to see where Gentle Heart and grinned, seeing that the lamb's breasts were at least as big as her own, "I can see that." She pressed her hands under her chest and hefted it up in front of Hidden Heart, "Wanna squeeze em?" she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh I…" Hidden's face turned so red she looked like she was about to explode, "right here?! I…!"

"Go on," Crafty's stomach growled, "Or maybe wait until I finish eating." She turned back to her supper. Hidden Heart sat still and watched her, especially when Crafty deliberately let a small leaf of lettuce drop into her cleavage and slowly pull it out, giving Hidden a seductive sideways glance. It was almost too much to bear.

Finally, Crafty finished, "There, how about now?" she reached over and drew her finger under Hidden's chin, "Meet me in my room?"

Hidden shot up, "YespleaseIwantto!" she babbled. Crafty grinned and dropped the tray off then took Hidden by the hand before they dashed back to her room in the Hall of Hearts.

OoOoO

Defiant Heart decided to take supper on the go. After stuffing some salad down his throat he grabbed five slices of pizza in his hands and headed out of the hall, eating as he walked. He had found that the Kingdom of Caring became very quiet at meal times and he enjoyed the peace and quiet in the open space. He looked around and spotted Loyal Heart Dog standing with his face pressed into star-shaped telescope. Curious, he headed towards the observation point.

"What are you doing out here?" Defiant asked as he took a seat on a bench right behind the railing where the telescope was mounted.

"It's my shift on the star-o-scope," Loyal Heart stepped back from the railing and turned to Defiant Heart.

Defiant offered a slice of pizza, "Hungry?"

Loyal Heart accepted and smiled, "Yes. Thank you," he sat down next to the badger and ate along with him. "So how are you all adjusting?"

"To this place? As good as we can," Defiant Heart munched on another slice of pizza and stared at the star-o-scope, "So what is that telescope used for?"

"Watching Earth, looking for any danger zones or watching people who might need our help," Loyal Heart finished his slice of pizza. "Once Bright Heart and Grumpy finish the new monitoring system under the Hall of Hearts we'll only need to use it for emergencies."

"Right." Defiant Heart said. "So all you do is help kids?"

"That's our primary goal, but we've been…slowing down lately." Loyal Heart sighed, "Too many problems, barely enough time to handle them. Kids are believing in us less and less at younger ages and parents are becoming more paranoid about strangers being around their kids. We're lucky if we can get a dozen missions in a week these days."

"Oh…" Defiant Heart looked away for a moment, "So what do you do now? What kind of jobs do you have up here?"

"Other than monitor duty, not much. Gentle Heart had a vegetable garden and most of the Forest of Feelings is full of edible plants we harvest every so often. We've been talking about making orchards and a full on farm so we can be more self-sufficient, you have no idea how vast that forest is. Champ maintains the gym and we all take turns on cooking duty and other essential duties." Loyal Heart smiled, "Proud Heart has an artistic garden she's very particular about, but it is a lovely sight."

Defiant Heart saw the dreamy look on Loyal Heart's face and changed the subject, "So what kind of jobs are we going to have?"

Loyal Heart shook his head for a moment, "Something akin to military or police work, with the magic and fighting you'll do."

"Makes sense." Defiant Heart finished his last slice of Pizza. "Want me to take over so you can get some supper."

"Really?" Loyal Heart perked up his ears.

"Sure. Get some food and I'll sit here, boring myself to death," Defiant Heart chuckled.

Loyal Heart sprang up and gave the badger a hug, "Thank you, gotta go!" Loyal Heart took off like a shot towards the Hall of Hearts.

"Damn, he can be excitable when he wants to," Defiant Heart took a look through the star-o-scope, "I really can see all the way to Earth."


	32. The Virtue of Patience

Chapter 32: The Virtue of Patience

Harmony smirked as she heard Love Heart running to catch up with her and swayed her hips as he caught up, "I was wondering if you'd follow me."

Love Heart slowed to match her pace, "Well I wanted to talk, and get to know some more people here."

Harmony gave Love Heart a hip check, "I'd love to get to know you too."

Love Heart tensed for a moment then relaxed, "I'm not sure I'm ready to just start sleeping around, Harmony. I'm not saying no forever just…I…"

"Need time to adjust?" Harmony asked. "It's fine, Love Heart, we're not all about sex up here we've just been kinda stuck for things to do lately. With caring missions being reduced and no real taboos imposed by our leaders or society we had few inhibitions beyond our own personal preferences." They had arrived at Harmony's house by this point, which had what looked like a large garage with double doors attached to the main house.

"So what are your personal preferences?" Love Heart asked as Harmony unlocked her front door.

Harmony smirked and turned around, drawing a finger down Love Heart's chest, "I like strong men," She stepped back as she saw Love Heart tense up again, "I would like to try and make beautiful music with you."

"Umm…" Love Heart felt his nerve failing him.

Harmony laughed and pushed open the doors to her 'garage', "I meant literally." Her garage turned out to be a huge music studio, a full orchestra of instruments (woodwind brass and strings) on the floor, several guitars hung up on hooks, a large drum kit in the corner, a grand piano in the opposite corner, bookshelves full of music, a large stereo and mixing board, and a soundproof booth for audio mixing.

Harmony folded her arms as Love Heart walked past her, "What do you think? Impressed?"

"Wow, I mean, wow…" Love Heart stared around the studio then turned back to Harmony, "Are all of these yours?"

"Yep," Harmony stepped past Love Heart and picked an acoustic guitar off the wall which she proceeded to tune, "Want to learn something?"

"Well maybe…" Love Heart walked over to the piano, "I can try. No promises though."

"All that matters is that you try. Here," Harmony set her guitar on a stand and walked over to the piano, "I'll give you some basic piano lessons. Let's start with the C scale."

OoOoO

Confidence Heart made her way to the gym and smirked when she saw that Cheer was there, running on a treadmill.

"Looking for Champ?" Cheer asked as she slowed the machine to a stop and wiped the sweat from her brow, which matted the fur on her forehead down.

"Yeah, figured this was the best place to start." Confidence hopped up on an elliptical machine.

Cheer smirked and headed for a rowing machine, "Disappointed?"

"Maybe not," Confidence started running on the machine.

"I'm happy to hear that," Cheer started rowing, "When we're done we could head to his house if you want."

Confidence Heart slowed to a stop on the elliptical, "You're always forwards."

"No reason not to be," Cheer stood up, "I admit I was a bit jealous to see the way Champ was looking at you, but I saw why in the showers." She walked over to Confidence as she stepped off her machine, "We don't have to go so fast, for instance I would love to swap hair care tips with you."

Confidence regarded the pink bear with curiosity for a moment, then laughed, "Sure why not? I still want to see Champ today."

"I'll show you to his house, once we get cleaned up." Cheer s aid.

"Alright, but keep it clean this time." Confidence and Cheer headed for the showers.

OoOoO

Love Heart clumsily played the C scale up and down as Harmony instructed him. "Still rough. Watch the way your thumb shifts under your middle finger."

"OK," Love Heart continued to practice the scale as Harmony watched and listened.

Harmony eventually called for Love Heart to stop when he played the scale perfectly five times. As Love Heart was about to leave Harmony spoke up.

"Do you think Life Heart is going to remove the curse from us?"

Love Heart turned back to Harmony and saw a look of concern on her face. "I don't know. I don't think she'll do it without permission but would that really be so bad? There are pills and other contraceptives aren't there?"

"Maybe, but we don't have access to a lot of that stuff up here and it does mean a huge change in how we think about things or have relationships, and if that changes it might upset everything we have in our lives. And then there's the whole aspect of having children," Harmony sighed, "I don't know if I'm ready for that, or all that comes with it."

Love Heart sighed and turned back to the open door, "I don't know, Harmony, I just don't know. I'll see you later." He shut the door, leaving Harmony alone with her thoughts.

OoOoO

Life Heart heard someone nervously clear their throat and looked up from her supper to see Funshine Bear standing next to her. Funshine was a male Care Bear with yellow fur, an athletic build and a smiling sun wearing sunglasses for a chest symbol.

"Hello, Funshine Bear?" Life Heart asked. Funshine nodded.

"Is something wrong?"

"Can I touch your belly," Funshine reached out nervously.

"Of course," Life Heart turned to give Funshine a better angle.

Funshine carefully placed a hand on Life Heart's taught tummy, "Wow," he gasped then smiled, "What's it like, being pregnant?"

Life Heart stared at him for a moment before she answered, "It's a complex feeling. I can feel the life inside of me growing and it feels wonderful, but at the same time I'm heavy, I'm off balance, I'm always hungry for the strangest foods," she looked down at her plate which had a salad that used ketchup as the dressing, "and my hooves and legs ache all the time. It's really hard to describe without having gone through it yourself."

"I see." Funshine stared down at her belly for a further moment before he looked up into Life Heart's face, "Can your magic do anything?"

"Anything?" Life Heart repeated, "Well…I do have limits, but that depends. What do you want me to do?"

"Can you change…someone?" Funshine asked.

Life Heart was about to respond when they both heart Crafty Heart's voice. "Hey, Funshine! How's it going."

Funshine Bear's demeanour changed in an instant, he smiled brightly and turned to Crafty, "Hey, Crafty, how's it hanging?"

"Pretty good. Just getting supper, you?" Crafty threw an arm around Funshine.

"Just finished, but I could go for seconds," Funshine said.

"Nah, you don't want to get too chunky do you?" Crafty prodded him gently.

"No probs, I'm gonna head home and get some practise on my board. Join me later for a workout?" he asked.

"In the yard or in the bed?" Crafty winked at him.

"Depends if you've got the energy after my session on the board," Funshine winked back, "Catch you later, Crafty."

Life Heart just stared at the departing yellow bear as he cast a glance back at her, his expression almost mournful for a moment. Life Heart couldn't get it out of her mind.

OoOoO

Soul Heart emerged from her home the following day, her exterior once again calm and in control. Flash Heart was the first to notice as he stood outside his house and he approached her, keeping a wary eye on Shatter Heart and Blade Star as they followed after her acting as an honour guard.

Soul Heart stopped and smiled winningly at Flash Heart, "I'm sorry I worried you, things have just been rough lately."

"I understand," Flash Heart's tone was hard and flat, "Is there anything we should do?"

"Prepare yourself for the inevitable conflict we will have to endure," Soul Heart said, "I may have to leave soon for a time but don't worry."

"I won't." Flash Heart turned and headed back into his house, leaving the door ajar.

Blade Star Bear waited until they were some distance from Flash Heart's house before she spoke, "My lady, why do you insist on keeping them around, surely you are strong enough without them."

"I once thought that," Soul Heart said, "But I've learned that you need whatever help you can get. I won't discard useful tools until I am certain they have outlived their usefulness."

None of them noticed the extra steps following behind them. Flash Heart had to suppress as growl as he stopped in his invisible tracks then waited for them to get some distance before he retreated back to his house.

"That's not her, what the hell happened!" He pounded the door with a fist as he reappeared and leaned up against the door. He noticed too late that Tarot Heart was there on the couch, having just woken up.

"Flash, what's wrong with mom?" he asked.

Flash Heart tried to put on a calming face, but failed and sighed, "I don't know, but soon I'm going to find out, once she doesn't know what I'm up to."

"What are you up to?" Tarot Heart asked.

Flash Heart sat down beside the young bear and patted his head, "Just going to try and find out some things in a few months. Just trust me until then.

Tarot Heart nodded, though he sounded unconvinced, "OK…"

OoOoO

Love Heart sat down across from his parents and next to Sweet Heart at breakfast before he'd even gone for food. "Mom, I think you should wait to undo the curse until we've dealt with the Shadow Magi."

Life Heart swallowed her mouth full of egg and toast, "Why?"

"Because we don't want everyone's attention divided while there's a very real danger out there, that and a baby boom that might cause will split our attention and create vulnerable targets for the Shadow Magi." Love Heart said.

"He was up late last night talking about it, once we both got back to the hall," Confidence Heart sat next to Love Heart carrying two trays of breakfast, one of which she pushed in front of Love Heart. "And I agree. It doesn't affect me but it would be unfair, besides everyone up here seems to like it."

"Have you two taken to 'free love' as well?" Sage Heart asked.

Love Heart cleared his throat, "We're working on it, sort of."

"Hard to push all the way," Confidence Heart admitted, "But it's nice to be able to go off and just have fun with someone without feeling jealous, cause everyone does it."

"I see…" Life Heart seemed nervous, but swallowed, "Alright, Love Heart, if you think that's best I'll hold off on it."

"Thanks mom." Love Heart tore into his breakfast and was gone from the table in five minutes, as was Confidence.

Sweet Heart Pegasus finished her food a moment later, "I'm gonna go with them. Gotta keep up with their training. Bye!" She jumped up and literally flew after her brother and Confidence Heart.

Sage Heart rolled his eyes and gathered the three extra abandoned trays to take to the dishwashers. "I think they'll be alright."

"I don't know if there's going to be a crisis, True Heart said no one can find the Kingdom of Caring unless they know the way," Life Heart placed a hand on her tummy, feeling a kick from within. She sighed and went back for seconds.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, I had a hard time figuring out what I should write for this chapter. Also I might be putting this chapter on hiatus until I finish Book 3 of Care Bears Family Adventures, but we'll see if I think up anything by the time I finish the next chapter.


	33. Experimenting with Disaster

Chapter 33: Experimenting with Disaster

Soul Heart landed in front of her house and dismissed Shatter Heart and Blade Star before entering. A paper wrapped package clutched in her hands. "Finally. I didn't think I would find them so easily." She grinned as she set the package on the table next to her bed. "I didn't think forcing control of this body would be so hard. In the morning we will resolve the conflict with all due haste." Soul Heart lay down and closed her eyes.

Ten minutes later her eyes opened and she sat up. She took a deep breath and picked up the package and then left her house.

Tarot Heart was shaken awake and he swatted at the hand that shook him. "Go'way, wanna sleep," he mumbled under his breath.

"Tarot Heart, son, please. It's your mother."

Soul Heart's soft voice caused Tarot Heart's eyes to shoot open and he sat bolt upright. He stared in the gentle eyes he thought he would never see again as Soul Heart stood over his small bed in the house he shared with Flash Heart. He threw his arms around Soul Heart and she hugged back.

"Mom!" His voice sounded so young, younger than he should have been.

Soul Heart patter his back then carefully broke the hug and put a finger to her lips. "Shhh, be quiet Tarot. I have something very important for you."

Tarot Heart nodded as Soul Heart fumbled with the package she held in her hand. "There's a bad voice inside me, Tarot Heart, a voice that's been forcing me to do bad things to you and your family and now," she held up the package, "It wants to use this to hurt more people," she pressed the package into Tarot Heart's hands, "I've kept it from hurting you until now but soon I won't be able to, do you understand?"

Tarot Heart stared at the packaged, but he nodded despite himself.

Soul Heart smiled, "Good. Now listen carefully. I need you to go and hide somewhere, anywhere away from us. If the voice finds you it will hurt you, maybe even kill you, so you can't tell anyone where you're going." She pressed a small purple crystal into his hands, "Just think of somewhere to hide and break that crystal and you'll be safe."

"But mom, where will I go? What will I do on my own?" Tarot Heart was starting to cry.

Soul Heart bent down and gave Tarot Heart a big hug. Salty tears leaked from her eyes as she spoke, "I'm sorry but I don't know. Just stay safe and we'll come and find you when this is all over." She pulled back and looked into Tarot Heart's eyes, "I promise. Now please go before the bad voice wakes up!"

Tarot Heart tried to speak, but choked on his words and was forced only to nod as he put the package into his tummy symbol and held the crystal in his hands. He squeezed, the crystal cracked and in an instant he had vanished.

Soul Heart took a deep breath then hurried back to her home. At least her youngest charge would be safe.

OoOoO

Funshine Bear didn't like to sleep in. No matter how late he stayed up he wanted to rise with the sun, so he kept the curtains for the window over his bed open. The light shining in woke him and he squinted at green form lying with her arms around him. He smiled, then kissed Crafty Heart Coyote on the forehead and lay back. The smell eventually became too much to bear and Funshine slid away from her.

Crafty opened her eyes and grinned as she got a full view of Funshine's butt, "Good morning."

"Didn't think you were up yet. Don't mind me, I'm just going to shower," Funshine said as he headed for the door.

Crafty snickered and got up, "Mind if I join you then."

Funshine smiled back over his shoulder at her, "Not at all."

Crafty was forced to press up against Funshine as they stepped into his shower.

"Sorry it's a bit cramped," Funshine turned on the shower heads.

"Nah, it's good," Crafty pressed her breasts against Funshine's back, "I like this."

Funshine grabbed the shampoo and turned around, a sunny grin on his face, "Me too."

Crafty gave him a coy look, "You just like being squished by my tits."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing with me," Crafty gave him a kiss on the nose, "but clean now and have fun later."

OoOoO

Life Heart and Sage Heart sat on the couch across from Noble Heart and True Heart on the loveseat in the founders living room.

"So, you said that we're hidden from the human world? How?" Life Heart asked, hand rested on her baby bump.

Noble Heart nodded, "It's a protection the Great Wishing Star gave us. There's a magical barrier around the Kingdom of Caring and anyone who doesn't know how to get through it will just pass through without hurting us, moreover they can't even see through it without help."

"So how do we get through it? We were never told how to get to the Kingdom of Caring," Sage Heart put his arm around Life Heart.

True Heart had to think for a moment and scratched her chin, "I never really thought about it, we sort of just… know."

"That's something we should look in to, just to make sure none of us get stranded outside," Sage Heart said.

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation and True Heart called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Funshine. I heard Life Heart was here. Can I talk to her, please?"

"Please come in," True Heart called back.

There was a moment's hesitation before Funshine opened the front door and stepped in. Life Heart patted the couch next to her, "You can sit down."

Funshine cleared his throat into his hand then spoke, "Actually, I need to talk to you alone. Can you come to my place after this, please?" True Heart and Noble Heart were surprised to see the boisterous bear so nervous as he shuffled his feet.

Sage Heart helped Life Heart to stand and she nodded to Funshine, "If you help me over there I can come now."

Funshine's eyes lit up, "Really?! I mean thanks, that's cool." He offered a hand to the unicorn who waved goodbye over her shoulder.

"We'll talk more at lunch," Noble Heart said.

The walk back to Funshine's house was uneventful and Life Heart didn't really need support, but she accepted his enthusiastic help. The outside of Funshine's house had a small skate park with a half-pipe and a few grinding rails inside a small chain-link fence. Funshine brought Life Heart in the front door and helped her into a chair in his living room.

Life Heart took a moment to look around, Funshine's living space was oddly sparse indoors, she supposed most of his efforts went into the outside.

Funshine paced for a moment, muttering to himself, before Life Heart snapped him out of it.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

Funshine turned to her and took a deep breath, "This is hard to say, I mean I know what I want to say but now that I'm here." He exhaled long and softly.

"Don't worry, I'll listen to what you have to say," Life Heart smiled at him.

Her smiled reassured and emboldened Fushine, he puffed up his chest then blurted out, "Canyoupleaseturnmeintoagirl!"

Life Heart stared, then blinked, "Pardon?"

Funshine took another deep breath and spoke again, slow enough to get his message across, "Can you please turn me into a girl?"

An uncomfortable silence reigned in the room. It took Life Heart a couple minutes to ask a one-word question, "Why?"

Funshine sighed and dropped down onto his couch, "It's hard to explain but I just don't know if I'm…right."

"What?" Life Heart was still not sure how to process what he was saying so Funshine continued.

"I just don't feel like I was born in the right gender, or something. I mean…It's hard to put into words but this body just doesn't feel right some days but… I don't know." Funshine buried his face in his hands, "I just…I need to know what it feels like, ya know?"

"Well…Do you like… girly things?" Life Heart asked hesitantly.

Funshine raised his head, "Not that, I mean what is 'girly' anyway? Cheer and Love-a-Lot are into fashion, Swift Heart is into sports, and Confidence told me she's into things on both sides of the boy/girl stuff, at least as far as humans see it." He sat back, "It wasn't like this when we were kids, I was just the cool guy who liked to skateboard and brighten up everyone's day but when we all started to grow up." He put his hands over his chest for a moment, "I saw how we were changing and I just started to feel uncomfortable in my own fur and skin, that I wasn't growing how I wanted to grow. I mean sure I was happy that I was getting stronger and could do better tricks and riskier stuff without getting hurt, but at the same time I wasn't sure if I felt right about the stuff I couldn't control." He buried his face into his hands again, "I just need to know."

Life Heart was deep in thought about what he said. Most of it didn't make sense to her but she was recalling something. She smiled, "I think I have something that can help you."

Funshine looked up, "Really?"

Life Heart nodded and giggled, "A few centuries ago I decided to play a prank on a young noble and his bride to be because of some things I saw him doing, so I turned him into a woman for a day and his lady into a man. It caused quite a stir and when it wore off everyone wrote it off as a bad dream, or that someone had angered a spirit. They were sort of right. It took me a while to figure out the spell but I created it and I Can do it again," She smiled happily, "That's one of the few memories I hold on to from before I met Sage Heart."

Funshine grinned and shot to his feet, pumping his fists in the air, "Alright! Can you do it now?"

"Just a moment." Life Heart close her eyes, "I think I can remember it. There, now hold still." Her horn lit up as she focused her magic into it then it flowed out and over Funshine. His whole body tingled for a moment and then, it was over.

Funshine examined his…her body: narrower shoulder, wider hips, decent bust and…he reached up to his head, long hair? "This is," she stopped, a bit surprised at her higher voice, "not what I thought it would be."

Life Heart stood up slowly, "I made the spell for a specific target, I never bothered to make it personalized or adaptive. It should last a whole day. How does it feel?"

"Weird, but kinda right," Funshine prodded her chest then took a step forwards, stumbling a bit, "gotta get used to this new balance. I got it!" she snapped her fingers then tried to jog to the closet next to the front door, almost stumbling again. Funshine pulled out her skateboard and safety pads, "Haven't worn these in a while," she strapped on the safety pads over her knees and elbows, wincing slightly when she tightened the elastic straps.

Life Heart watched Funshine adjust her helmet on her head and pull out her skateboard. "I hope you enjoy yourself."

"I will, thank you!" Funshine stepped outside and held the door for Life Heart then headed into her skate park.

Swift Heart was out for a morning jog when her sensitive ears caught the sound of a distinctly high-pitched shout, followed by a thud and a faint feminine "ow…"

She slid to a stop at Funshine's house in time to see a very feminine looking Funshine Bear get up from her spill, "Still working on the balance."

"Funshine?" Swift Heart stared at her as she stood up.

Funshine grinned as she leaned on her fence, "Hey Swift Heart, how's it going."

"You're a girl, or a woman…" she gave Funshine the once over, "Nope girl. Why are you a girl? How are you a girl?"

"Life Heart did this," Funshine turned in place, "What do you think?"

"It's…different," Swift Heart leaned on the fence.

"Yeah, but the hair's getting in the way," Funshine took off her helmet and pulled the hair up under it before she pulled it on again.

"Kinda bland if you ask me," Swift Heart said.

"Life Heart said it was from an old prank she pulled. What?" She turned to look at Swift Heart's confused expression.

"Why did you get turned into a girl?" Swift Heart's voice had lost its usual playfulness.

Funshine sighed as she switched into a serious discussion mode, "Because I didn't feel right in my own body, I think it's called 'gender dysphoria' so I asked Life Heart to change me so I could feel what it's like." She saw Swift Heart's expression, "OK, seriously what?"

"I'm sorry this is just… this is just weird OK. You've always been a guy and seeing you like this…I don't know." Swift Heart turned away and started to stretch. "That and I had something like that once."

"What?" Funshine leaned over the fence to watch her stretch.

Swift Heart stood up, "When we were teenagers I felt odd in my own body too, for a while at least. I mean seeing all the other girls into things like fashion and dolls and music and cooking, I felt like I was getting into the wrong things for a girl, especially sports." She turned to face Funshine, "I got over it when I went to see a tomboy girl on Earth to help her with the same kinda issues, Noble Heart even told me he sent me on that mission on purpose."

"Swift Heart, I was never into the 'wrong things' for a guy," Funshine pointed over her shoulder to the skate park in her yard, "This is still me, this is still what I'm into."

Swift Heart turned and leaned her back up against the fence, "I just don't know, Funshine. Is this going to be permanent?"

Funshine shrugged, "I dunno, maybe if Life Heart can do it. For now, I'm just being a girl for the day. I'm more worried about what everyone else will think."

"I'm still not sure how I think, I gotta go." Swift Heart stood up and took off.

"Swift Heart, wait!" Funshine shouted after her, but she was alone. Funshine sighed and turned back to the skate park, then back to the house. Suddenly, she didn't feel like exercising.

OoOoO

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Soul Heart smashed her fist into the wall of her cabin, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

" **I sent Tarot Heart away with the tool you intended to use where you can't hurt him."**

"WHERE IS HE! TELL ME!"

" **I don't know, that way you can't know."**

"THEN I HAVE ALLOWED THIS TO GO ON TOO LONG. YOUR FAMILY WILL SUFFER AND DIE AT MY HANDS AS I USE THEM TO DESTROY THE CARE BEARS!" Soul Heart grit her teeth and grabbed her own forehead then spoke one last time.

"Are you there?... Good, now to continue."

Soul Heart emerged from her home and scanned the island. She spotted Passion Heart Wolverine and grinned, "Passion Heart! Can you come here please?" she beckoned to him.

Passion Heart was wary but he approached Soul Heart, "Yeah, did you need something?"

"Not at the moment, but I think you need something." Soul Heart's voice became almost silky as she spoke, "You remember your fight with the fennec, Confidence Heart?"

Passion Heart's eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth, "I remember."

Soul Heart smirked, "Good, then come in and I can show you something that will help you fight them." She motioned for Passion Heart to follow her into her house. Against his better judgement, Passion followed her.

OoOoO

Funshine just lay on her couch and watched TV until supper time. Her stomach growling was the only thing that got her up and out of the house as she played with her hair, "Gotta ask for shorter hair if I do this for real," she mumbled as she trudged towards the Hall of Hearts.

Funshine felt like she wanted to disappear as she walked up to the buffet table. She could feel everyone staring at her as she got her food and then went to sit in the far back corner. No one approached her to talk and she barely touched her food. She only snapped out of things when Noble Heart tapped a spoon on a glass to get everyone's attention.

Noble Heart set the glass down once everyone quieted down, "Thank you. Now then I know this is unusual but as long as everyone's here, Grams, True Heart and I have a story to tell: the true origin of the Care Bear Family."

Everyone turned to give the founders their full attention as True Heart spoke up. "I know we've told you how we all came to be here, but there was more before that. We always meant to tell you when you were older but it just sort of…slipped our minds until Sage Heart and Life Heart asked us today, so we decided it was time to tell all of you." She looked to Grams, who nodded then stood up.

"I can remember everything so I will tell the story and because we have newcomers who were never part of this I won't spare any details or information." Grams cleared her throat, "You all know about paradise valley, Perfect and Polite's home on Earth? That used to be our home, the home of our entire race. You see before the Kingdom of Caring our kind lived on Earth but we weren't the Care Bear Family. Back then we were known as the Heartbound.

"I don't know how our kind came to be but we lived alongside humans in a rather agrarian existence. We didn't know anything about the outside world and none of us had chest symbols or the powers we have right now but that didn't matter to any of us. I was getting on in years but my husband and I looked after cubs as sort of babysitters so their parents could go out and work," she smiled down at True Heart and put a hand on her shoulder, "They knew I was good at raising kids thanks to True Heart."

True Heart giggled like an infant, "Mom!"

Grams laughed too, "Sorry, True, but I can't resist." She removed her hand from True Heart and sighed, "But it ended one day. A young boy went to part of our valley that was forbidden. None of us knew why, maybe he was rebellious, maybe he was lonely but it didn't matter: that boy returned as Dark Heart and he," she drew in a shuddering breath, "started destroying everything and killing everyone." She reached up to wipe tears from her eyes, "We acted as fast as we could, gathering up any children we could find and taking them to a secret cove we had that led to the ocean with a wooden sailing ship. We got all of you onboard and then…" Grams sat down, now visibly crying, "My husband, Flint, went back to look for more survivors and the cave…collapsed after he left. We had no choice but to run with you onboard and Dark Heart chasing us."

True Heart put a hand on her mother's shoulder, she was also on the verge of tears at the memory, "It's alright, mom, they know the rest of the story."

Noble Heart nodded and did his best to dry his eyes, "They do, we came here at the behest of the Great Wishing Star and started the Care Bear Family. Before you ask, our names were much as they are now, after all Perfect and Polite are their actual names." He turned to Grams, "Grams is the only real exception, that was just a nickname Hugs and Tugs gave her."

Grams nodded, "My birth name is Rose, but I haven't gone by that name in years."

Everyone sat in silence, some tears flowing and everyone thinking about what had been said, until Guidance Heart stood up. "Excuse me, but you said you were all born like this, as you are now right?"

Noble Heart still had the best composure amongst the founders so he answered, "Yes, we were all born as Heartbound."

Guidance Heart touched her chest, "We weren't." Everyone turned to listen to her as what she said dawned on them. "Other than Love Heart and Sweet Heart, all of us Care Bear Magi were born as normal animals and changed into this, except Defiant and Crafty but even they used to be humans. So what are we?"

Noble Heart and True Heart exchanged looks, stunned for a response. True Heart fumbled her words, "I…don't know."

OoOoO

Love Heart and Confidence Heart stood in front of Take Care as she looked over the medical files on her computer. She hummed slightly as she opened another file. "Well here it is, there are some differences I just never thought much about it before." She looked up at the two Magi.

"Well, what is it?" Confidence Heart leaned on the desk.

"Take a look," Take Care slid aside to let Love Heart and Confidence see her information. "Compared to normal Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, Care Bear Magi have dense muscular and bone structures, you can survive much harsher injuries than we could but their brains aren't as…sophisticated."

"Are you calling me stupid?" Confidence Heart glared at Take Care.

Take Care held up her hands defensively, "No, but our brains can absorb and learn things much faster than humans, you're about on the same level as a human. Just for example: I managed to finish a medical school degree in 8 years, including my residency, while for most humans it takes a minimum of 12 to 16 years to get licensed. But that's not all," she carefully edged the two away and changed the display to show two new documents, "I remembered something odd about Hugs and Tugs. You see when they were cubs just brought up from our old homeland, they were as helpless as human children at that age were. They needed Noble Heart, True Heart and Grams to look after and protect them, but Hugs and Tugs… Even when they were toddlers still in diapers they were up and active and helping us to defeat No-Heart and doing acrobatic tricks that shouldn't have been possible at their age. I didn't think much of it at the time, until I compared them to yours and Sweet Heart's records, Love Heart."

"What about it?" Love Heart gave her a curious look.

"All four of you seem to have the advantages of both species, stronger minds and sturdier bodies both beyond that of humans. The only thing the four of you have in common is that you were born to Care Bears after we were given our special powers." She paused for a moment to think, "Maybe this is really why No-Heart cursed us. Not just because he was afraid of there being more of us but because future generations would be stronger than the first."

"Maybe…" Love Heart mused.

Confidence Heart sighed and rolled her eyes, "Great, so I'm inferior now?"

Love Heart turned to her and gave her a kiss, "Not the way I see it."

Confidence smiled, "Thanks. But why were we created like this in the first place?" she looked down at her hands.

"You mean why were the Magi made from animals and humans instead of born as Care Bears?" Take Care shrugged, "The only one who would know that is the Great Wishing Star but the only time we get to talk to him directly is when we round up the star or heart buddies to take them to big star point."

"You mean those freaky looking stars and hearts with faces we see flying around?" Confidence shuddered, "What's with those things?"

"They were creatures created to help look after us when we were younger, but as we grew up and learned more they became more… irrelevant except when we take them to the Great Wishing Star." Take Care said. "they both live here and help reinforce the magic that shields us from the outside and make the clouds solid so we can live up here but every couple years we have to take them to Big Star Point so the Great Wishing Star can replenish their energies and keep our land alive."

Love Heart nodded, "Next time that happens I'm going with them. I need to ask that star about us."

"That's probably the best way to find out," Take Care nodded.

"Well, we're heading out then." Confidence Heart turned to leave along with Love Heart.

"Just a moment. Love Heart, can I speak to you alone?" Take Care said.

Love Heart stopped, "OK."

"I'll wait outside," Confidence Heart stepped out.

Love Heart turned around to see Take Care giving him an odd look. "Is there something wrong with me, doctor?"

Take Care shook her head, "Not at all, I just wanted to ask you something." A blush came to her pink cheeks, "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

Love Heart started, "What? I mean why?"

Take Care took a deep breath, "Love Heart, I haven't had a meaningful relationship with anyone in my life and I wanted to give it a try."

"Wait, you mean up here in this 'free love' world you've never had any sort of relationship?" Love Heart was taken aback.

Take Care sighed, "I'm not quite the same as the rest of them. They were all cubs when we came up here but I was a young child, about 7 or 8. I had to help look after the cubs and when I was old enough I left for medical school. I was, and still am, their big sister so I can't see them as anything other than a family I helped raise. It would be awkward at the very best." She smiled up at Love Heart, "Then your group came up here and I thought that I could have a chance. So I decided to ask you."

A bit less confused, Love Heart asked again, "Why me?"

Take Care sat back, "Honestly? Anger Heart's seems committed to be monogamous with Guidance Heart, the same with Sage Heart and Life Heart, Defiant Heart's gay, I can never get more than a word in with Independent Bear and I don't like girls that way. You were the best choice. So, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Love Heart scratched the back of his head, "Maybe, I mean I'm flattered and after Harmony made a pass at me and taught me some piano I guess I'm warming up to this idea, but I need to think about it."

"That's fine, just don't take too long." Take Care turned back to her computer as Love Heart made a hasty exit.

Confidence Heart was leaning up against the wall of Take Care's home/hospital, "She asked you out." It was a statement, not a quiestion

Love Heart nodded, "Yeah. Still not sure though."

They walked together, Confidence with her hands behind her head, "She sounded kinda desperate. I think you should go out with her."

"Really?" Love Heart cocked an eyebrow to her.

Confidence stopped and lowered her arms, "Yeah, I mean why not? You're a bit nervous and I wasn't sure but why should we worry." She smiled, "I still love you, no matter what."

"I love you too," Love Heart gave her a kiss, "I'll accept tomorrow, let's just make tonight for us OK?"

Confidence smiled and hugged him, "Deal."

OoOoO

Passion Heart was worried when he was strapped down to some sort of table in Soul Heart's house as she worked with a spell book and several piles of herbs on a large table. Finally, Soul Heart began to cast a spell into a mixture she had created. A few sparks of white light and strange words later, Soul Heart came up with a small green orb of energy, no larger than a crab-apple.

"There, done although a bit smaller than I would have liked." Soul Heart turned to Passion Heart, who was still strapped onto her operating table.

"What the hell is that thing?" Passion gripped his restraints as Soul Heart approached him.

"Just the key to our victory, I believe," Soul Heart stepped up and held the orb to his chest, "This is going to hurt." She pushed the orb into Passion Heart's chest, right over his chest symbol.

Passion Heart screamed in pain and pulled at his restraints as the orb sunk halfway into his chest. Soul Heart strained to keep pushing the orb into his chest, until she saw the restraints splintering under his strength and she pulled it out. "Rejected. Not surprising." She turned back to her workbench, "But we have plenty of time to perfect it."

OoOoO

The following day, Defiant Heart Badger stood with his arms folded as he stared at the cloud car in front of him. "So what are we doing out here again?"

Loyal Heart Dog walked up to the cloud car and stepped into the passenger's seat, "We're going to test to see if you can get back through the barrier. I'm going along just to be safe. You did pass your driver's test, Anger Heart?"

The fox nodded and walked around to the driver's side, "I did, still a bit shaky thought."

"That's fine, Defiant Heart you can get in now." Loyal Heart motioned to the back seat. Defiant Heart groaned but got in the back and buckled in.

"Don't worry, they'll be monitoring us from the Hall of Hearts and the Star-o-scope just in case," Loyal Heart said.

Anger Heart started the car, "Alright, here goes."

Love Heart, Confidence Heart and Guidance Heart stood by, watching everything unfold.

The ride down to Earth was a bit bumpy as Anger Heart adjusted to the descent. There was no conversation except for Loyal Heart navigating them towards an area of wilderness.

Defiant Heart was the first to step out of the car once they landed, "OK, now what?"

Loyal Heart unbuckled and stood up, "Now you two head back to the Kingdom of Caring to see if you can get in without my help."

"And what, you just stand there?" Anger Heart turned to look at Loyal Heart without getting out of the cloud car.

"Yes," Loyal Heart nodded, "And I'll come up to help you if you can't get through the barrier. Get in," he motioned for Defiant to get in the seat. Defiant Heart sighed and got in. Anger Heart revved up the engine and they took off. Loyal Heart watched them go until they were just a spec amongst the other clouds.

A growl from nearby brought Loyal Heart's attention back to Earth and he turned around. He saw an orange and silver Care Wolverine standing behind him wearing only a pair of black pants. The wolverine had a vicious look in his eyes and his mouth hung open showing off his razor sharp teeth.

Loyal Heart was instantly on guard. "Who are you?"

"Your death!" The wolverine launched forwards, mouth open and claws outstretched.

OoOoO

The ride back up was smoother and passed in silence, until they got to the barrier.

Anger Heart shuddered, "Do you feel that?"

Defiant Heart dropped his dour expression and looked forwards, "Yeah and I think I know." Both breathed deep and suddenly Care-a-Lot came into view. "I think that was it."

"Yeah, HELLO!" Anger Heart shouted to the landing pad, where Love Heart Bear, Confidence Heart Fennec and Guidance Heart Raccoon stood waiting.

As soon as Anger Heart got out of the car, Guidance Heart ran to him and gave him a big hug and kiss.

Love Heart smirked, "I guess the mission was a success. Better call Loyal Heart and get him back home."

Before they could do anything, Wish Bear came running up to the landing pad. "You have to go back! Loyal Heart's in danger!"

"In danger, from what?" Love Heart tensed up as he waited for the reply.

"A Care Wolverine, like us! He's trying to kill him!" Wish was starting to hyperventilate.

Confidence Heart's eyes narrowed, "Passion Heart." Without warning she turned and ran to the edge of the clouds with Love Heart right alongside her. They both jumped off the edge and began to fly down towards Earth.

"Did you finally learn to fly!?" Love Heart shouted over the wind rushing past them.

"Haven't got the hang of it yet, but I can land safely!" Confidence shouted back.

OoOoO

Loyal Heart was bleeding from several deep scratches along his arms and chest, having just barely been able to keep ahead of Passion Heart's lethal strikes. But he was starting to tire and the blood loss was making him feel faint. When he stumbled and fell to his back he thought it was the end as the wolverine readied for a killing pounce, jaws open as if ready to feed.

"HIYYAAAAA!" Confidence Heart's shout was accompanied by her right foot slamming into Passion Heart's face at near terminal velocity which sent him flying. Confidence winced visibly as the air bubble that had slowed her down dissipated and Love Heart landed next to her.

"Are you alright," Love Heart helped her to stand.

Confidence Heart was shaky on her right leg but managed to stand, "Hurts like hell but I'll be fine. Loyal Heart!" She turned to the dog who was barely conscious.

"Hurts, all over," he muttered.

"Just stay awake, we'll get Take Care down here to…" Love Heart's word faded as a still very much conscious Passion Heart Wolverine stood up from where he landed, eyes murderously focused on him and Confidence Heart.

Confidence Heart dropped into a fighting stance, "He was that strong before, what the hell happened?"

"Doesn't matter," Love Heart conjured his swords into his hands. "We just have to hold him off till Take Care gets here."

Passion Heart charged at them, Love Heart braced his swords and caught his claw attacks, but the swords didn't go through him like he expected, just stopping on Passion's hands as he snapped his jaw forwards to try and bite Love Heart.

"Get off him!" Confidence Heart charged in and punched Passion Heart hard in the side of his head, but barely managed to make him budge. Passion Heart grabbed Love Heart's swords and swung him sideways into Confidence Heart, knocking her to the ground.

Confidence cried out in pain as she hit the solid ground, "My leg!" she shouted.

Love Heart tried to get up off her but was pinned by Passion Heart's claws that pierced into his chest.

"YAAAH!" A blast of fire momentarily enveloped Passion Heart and he released his claws from Love Heart as Anger Heart and Defiant Heart landed their cloud car next to him.

Passion Heart's fur was barely singed as he turned on the two newcomers. Love Heart only had a moment to shout, "RUN!" before the wolverine charged them.

Defiant Heart already had his conjured spear in hand and stabbed it into the charging wolverine, only for the tip to shgatter as it struck his chest and Passion Heart swatted him aside. Anger Heart tried to shoot fire at him again but the wolverine just bowled through it and bit into Anger Heart's arm. The fox cried out in pain as he instinctively tried to pull his hand free and he felt a "pop" in his left shoulder as it went limp.

"Lightning Spear!" A bright bolt of lightning shot into Passion Heart's back and he let go of Anger Heart's arm and turned on Love Heart.

Love Heart had discarded his swords and he shot his arms forwards, shooting lightning into Passion Heart. The wolverine winced as the lightning struck him but pushed forwards. Love Heart conjured his swords again and began to swing to counter the blows from the wolverine's clawed hands.

Confidence Heart tried to stand, but couldn't move her right leg. She watched as Love Heart dueled Passion Heart across the wilderness clearing. Love Heart's swords were actually starting to draw blood as the fight wore on, but the wolverine wasn't even slowing down.

Their attention was drawn by the sound of the cloud ambulance, Take Care's personal emergency vehicle, as it landed nearby. Guidance Heart had been drafted as a temporary nurse and she and Take Care managed to load the four injured Care Animals into the back, all on stretchers and told not to move.

Love Heart was starting to slow down but he saw Guidance Heart waiting for him and he shouted, "Run! I'll hold him!" He took a claw swipe to his right leg but countered with slash from his sword, cutting deep into the wolverine's left arm. Guidance Heart didn't want to leave him but climbed into the back as the ambulance took off.

Love Heart blocked another blow, his arms aching from the repeated strikes. Passion Heart's nightmarish strength was finally beginning to overwhelm him as one of his swords cracked, then Love Heart felt something snap in his right forearm. Love Heart cried out in pain and jumped up to avoid another blow from the wolverine's claws. Passion Heart scanned around furiously for Love Heart then looked up to see him hovering overhead, holding what was now his broken right arm.

Love Heart's brief reprieve ended when Passion Heart shot his right arm upwards and a field of dark energy enveloped him. Love Heart felt the pull of intense gravity dragging him back to earth and coupled with the pain he wasn't able to conjure up a bolt of lightning, so he fell back on a desperate measure as he remembered something Tenderheart had showed him as he focused his feelings into his chest and his chest symbol began to glow.

"Care Bears, countdown! 4! 3! 2! 1! Care Bear Stare!" A bright beam of white energy fired off at Passion Heart. Immediately the beam of gravity stopped as Passion Heart roared out in pain, swiping at the beam as if trying to force it away until his finally collapsed on his back. Love Heart didn't wait around to see what would happen and flew upwards, back to the Kingdom of Caring.

Passion Heart lay still for a moment before a small orb of pale green energy floated up and out of his chest before dissipating into mist. A moment later Soul Heart appeared and shook her head, "More successful but it only made you a raging beast. I need to amplify your strength and let you actually use the weapons and magic that you can. Next time I expect one of their corpses to be lying here." She grabbed his arm and they both teleported away.

OoOoO

Love Heart didn't know how he managed to concentrate hard enough to return to the Kingdom of Caring with all the pain he felt and he collapsed on the first bank of clouds that he reached.

When he finally regained consciousness he was in an injury ward at Take Care's hospital and a cast was over his right forearm. Take Care stood over him and smiled, "Welcome back, Love Heart."

"Good to be back." Love Heart used his left arm to push himself into a sitting position, "How is everyone?"

"Alive and breathing but all hurt: you have a broken forearm, Confidence Heart's right leg is broken, Defiant Heart had a few broken ribs, Anger Heart's left arm was dislocated and his hand nearly bitten off, and Loyal Heart lost a lot of blood but I got him a transfusion from my supply so he'll recover."

"You keep a blood supply?" Love Heart cocked an eyebrow.

Take Care nodded, "I do. I don't know if human blood will work properly with ours so I keep a supply of everyone's blood on hand just to be safe, which reminds me I need to get some donations from all of you when you have time, but that can wait." She looked up at Love Heart with concern, "Will you be alright?"

"I'll recover, but I need to talk to everyone about what happened. We have a serious problem." Love Heart looked down at the blue cast on his right forearm, "Guess this is a bad time to accept your offer of a date."

Take Care smiled, "Not at all, but we can talk about that later. If you have something to tell everyone then go to it." She gave him a kiss on the cheek as he stood up.

Love Heart blushed slightly, "Thank you."


	34. Sealed in

Chapter 34: Sealed in

Soul Heart reappeared in front of her house with Valiant Heart still on the ground. She stared down at him with a mixture of contempt and amusement, "You at least proved this was a useful effort."

"What did you do to him!" Marine Heart Otter stormed up towards Soul Heart, water dripping from his coat and fire in his eyes.

"A test, to see if I could empower him. He both passed and failed." Soul Heart turned away from Marine Heart.

Marine Heart finally snapped, "Then test this!" he shot his hand forwards as a torrent of water blasted out towards her. Soul Heart pointed an arm behind her without even looking and dispersed the water as it struck her.

Marine Heart was stunned right up until he was bashed on the head and pinned down, an acidic ninjato at his throat. "You went too far this time, now you die," Blade Star whispered.

"No!" Soul Heart turned to face the two, "Let him go, Blade Star, I still have need of him."

Blade Star hesitated for a moment and looked down at the still growling Marine Heart, then sighed and stepped of his back and sheathed her sword, "As you wish."

Marine Heart growled as he got to his feet but said nothing.

"Good," Soul Heart nodded approvingly and stepped towards him. She reached out a hand towards the otter's face but he recoiled in disgust. Soul Heart frowned then shot forwards and grabbed his head, "Enough resistance from you," her eyes crackled with green magical energy, "Return to your home until I call upon you tomorrow."

Surprisingly, Marine obeyed. He stormed back to his house on the beach and left Soul Heart and Blade Star standing there next to Passion's unconscious form.

"Blade, take Passion home and bring Shatter Heart here. I will summon the rest of them later." Soul Heart turned and marched back into her home.

"At once, my lady." Blade Star cross an arm across her chest then picked up Passion Heart.

OoOoO

Funshine had changed back into a male by the time he finished his shower the next morning. After a breakfast in silence he went out to his skate park and started to roll around on his skateboard, but his heart wasn't in it. He didn't even make halfway up a half-pipe before he just slid back down and rolled over to a grinding rail, only to stop, sigh, and dismount.

Maybe he'd feel better later.

OoOoO

Soul Heart knew they wouldn't gather for her, so she went to the first place she knew they would be. She burst open the door to Flash Heart's house in the middle of a meeting he was having, with Shatter Heart and Blade Star flanking her.

"Good to see that you're all here," she gave a smug smile to the assembled group.

The tension in the air became thick as Flash Heart growled, "What do you want?"

Soul Heart didn't lose her smug expression, "I'm here to give you all a chance to defeat the Care Bears that humiliated you before," she turned to Passion Heart, "Tell them. Tell them how my power helped you yesterday."

Passion Heart found himself staring back into Soul Heart's eyes before he responded, "Yeah, I felt incredible," he gave a fearsome smile and clenched his fists, "they couldn't even slow me down and I would have had them if they couldn't fly."

"Exactly, though I need to refine the process so I can give you all that same level of power." She walked over to and squeezed Passion's shoulder, "Hopefully without making you as much of a berserker as Passion Heart was."

"Sounds good, a bit too good," Marine Heart gave a skeptical look to Soul Heart.

"I won't start right away. I need to know which of you needs this kind of help. After all, Flash Heart only lost his fight against Love Heart because of a momentary distraction," Soul Heart turned to Flash Heart, who just glared back at her.

"Maybe," Calm Heart's head began to ache and she put a hand to her forehead, "But I don't think it would be a bad idea."

"Yes…I mean…" Snowy Heart held his forehead too.

"Good, then we'll start tomorrow. Until then, good night." Soul Heart turned and left with her two bodyguards in tow.

Flash Heart ignored his friends as they dispersed from his house and chased after Soul Heart. Soul Heart heard him and stopped, motioning for Shatter Heart and Blade Star to wait and turned around.

"Did you need something?" she asked.

"Where is Tarot Heart?" Flash Heart's question was steady but challenging.

"I don't know." Soul Heart turned to walk away when Flash Heart suddenly appeared in front of her in a flash of light.

"Where. Is. Tarot. Heart." Flash Heart ground the words out through gritted teeth.

Shatter Heart was about to draw one of his swords to strike, when Soul Heart put out a hand to stop him.

"I don't know. He just vanished yesterday morning and I have no idea where he went." Soul Heart said.

"I don't believe you!" Flash Heart dropped into a fighting stance.

Blade Star drew her ninjato and jumped at Flash Heart, aiming for his neck with an acid laced blade.

Quick as lightning, Flash Heart dodged back and summoned a blade of light, slicing through the ninjato in a single swipe. Before Blade Star could retaliate Flash Heart had whipped out his Kusarigama and wrapped the chain around her body, pinning her arms to her sides. Shatter Heart shouted, sending a sonic wave at Flash Heart but before it could seriously hurt him Flash whipped the weighted end of his weapon at Shatter Heart face, the chain growing new links as it flew and wrapping around his neck. Flash Heart gave a sharp tug and pulled Shatter Heart to the ground.

"Enough!" Soul Heart stepped forwards and grabbed the chain, her magical energy shattering the object. "I know you won't believe me about what happened but believe me when I say this: if I knew where Tarot Heart was I would have retrieved him already. Now go back to your home and get ready for tomorrow." Soul Heart grabbed the arms of her two bodyguards and pulled them along back to her house.

Flash Heart just stood there, stunned, then turned and went home. He was crying by the time he got inside, the house feeling empty with Tarot Heart gone. "I'll find you someday, Tarot. I promise."

OoOoO

"Alright, you're cleared to go," Take Care removed the bandages from Loyal Heart's injuries.

"Thank you," Loyal Heart mumbled as he got up and left. Love Heart passed by Loyal Heart as he entered the office, the cast still on his arm.

"Ahh, here to get your cast off, or just to see a pretty doctor?" Take Care fluttered her eyelashes.

Love Heart smiled and blushed slightly, "Both, but take a look at my arm first."

"Of course. Into the X-Ray." Take Care guided Love Heart towards the device.

"Well, Love Heart, I'm impressed. Your arm is fully healed already. I'd say you haven't even lost any strength in that arm yet. Just give me a minute to remove it."

Love Heart held his arm out as Take Care carefully sawed the cast off. Take Care and Love Heart both grimaced and held their noses as the smell of fur unbathed for two weeks hit them.

Love Heart flexed his fingers and forearm, "Guess I should shower before our date. Do you need me for anything else?" he stood up.

"No, just my reports." Take Care smiled sweetly, "But I would like to go out before dinner tonight."

Love Heart blushed again but swallowed and regained his composure, "OK. I have to go to a meeting, excuse me."

OoOoO

Love Heart sat down with the rest of the Care Bear Magi, Tenderheart, Brave Heart, True Heart and Noble Heart alone in the Hall of Hearts. "I don't need to tell you that we have a serious problem so I'll get right to it: Passion Heart Wolverine's increase in strength is far beyond what anyone should be capable of in such a short time," he turned to Confidence Heart.

"I fought him less than half-a-year ago, before I could use any kinetics, and I kicked his ass," she saw the glare from Indy and the eye roll from Love Heart, "OK, so it was an even match and I almost died, but I still beat him and he wasn't as strong as he was two weeks ago."

"It sounds like he might have been holding back before, that or he's been…augmented somehow," Guidance Heart spoke up.

"So what do we do about this?" Anger Heart folded his arms across his chest.

True Heart spoke next, "I hope you don't mind my suggestion, but have you tried talking to them or reasoning with them."

"We have, or at least I tried a few times," Indy also had his arms folded as he started at his lap. "Shatter Heart and Blade Star chased me halfway across America and never relented. It was always: come with us or die," he looked up towards True Heart, "I don't think they want to talk."

"From what you told us, I'm inclined to agree," Tenderheart said, "The question is: what do we do about it?"

Love Heart sighed "What we need is time. Time to train, get stronger or just get ahead of them, but if they can get this strong so quickly then I don't know what we can do."

"Not unless we have a hyperbolic time chamber." Confidence Heart leaned back in her seat.

"Hyper-what?" Defiant Heart raised an eyebrow.

Confidence Heart leaned forwards, "It's a thing from Dragon Ball: a chamber they could go in where time moved a lot faster: one day in the real world was one year inside the chamber."

Defiant Heart groaned, "This isn't the time for anime fangirling. Can you focus on what we're doing please?"

"I might be able to do something." Everyone turned to Life Heart. Despite all the attention on her, Life Heart continued what she had to say, "If I can get a closer look at the barrier that surrounds the Kingdom of Caring I might be able to do something like that."

Sage Heart gave her a shocked expression, "You can do that?"

Life Heart averted her gaze, "Well…I don't know yet I haven't tried anything like this before but there are spells that can accelerate someone's actions. It would actually be harder if such a small area weren't already isolated by pre-existing magic but since it would just affect the Kingdom of Caring then accelerating time for everyone in here might be possible."

Love Heart smiled, "Thanks mom, we'll look into that. In the meantime, we need to be ready to train hard if this happens."

"If that's everything, then meeting adjourned," Brave Heart said.

"If you want, we can go check the barrier now," Sage Heart helped Life Heart to stand.

Life Heart nodded, her left hand on her belly, "Yes. The sooner I check the better."

Sage Heart drove them to the border of the Kingdom of Caring, having become quite skilled at driving a cloud car. He slowed to a stop as Life Heart held up a hand, indicating where the barrier existed. "Alright, here we are. Life Heart!" Sage Heart's eyes nearly popped out of his head as Life Heart stood up on her seat and leaned towards the barrier. She almost overbalanced until Sage Heart caught her and held her in place.

"I just need to contact it," Life Heart tilted her horn to contact the barrier. Her whole body tingled as she held the tip of her horn inside the barrier. She closed her eyes, "This is powerful and ancient magic, but I've felt something like it before. I think I can do something like what Confidence Heart suggested, if I have time to prepare." She let Sage Heart pull her back into her seat.

"How much time, before the twins are born?" Sage Heart glanced at Life Heart's baby bump before driving them back towards Care-a-Lot.

Life Heart leaned back in her seat, "Yes. The barrier actually makes things easier, since it isolates the Kingdom of Caring from the rest of the Earth, which is a huge part of the spell preparation done already. I should be able to set things up in a week or two at most."

Sage Heart nodded, "As long as you let us all help."

"I will."

OoOoO

Swift Heart slowed to a stop instead of her usual skid stop as she approached Funshine's house. The yellow bear hadn't even come to meals ever since he had shown up as a she over two weeks ago. Funshine was just coasting around in his skate park until he saw Swift Heart and stepped off his board. He was about to go into the house until Swift Heart's voice made him stop.

"Funshine, wait!" Swift Heart darted over next to him, "I want to talk."

"First time in weeks." He turned to face Swift Heart and for the first time she could see just how much hurt was in his eyes. "So, what do you want to talk about?" He averted his gaze as Swift Heart spoke up.

"I'm…sorry. I mean I shouldn't have run away like that I just didn't know what to think," she scuffed the ground with her foot, "I just…I mean I'm trying to understand and…everyone's just a little weirded out from seeing you as a girl."

Funshine's voice suddenly became rather dark, "To put it mildly." He turned to face Swift Heart, his eyes blazing, "Weirded out enough to not even come to see me for days on end or even try to contact me. I've been waiting, waiting for someone to come by and just give me the time of day and now I know what everyone thinks of me!" Funshine's voice had raised to shouting as he spoke and his face contorted in rage.

Swift Heart wilted for a moment under his stare, then stepped forwards and puffed up her chest, "Hey! You just sprung this on us out of nowhere, how did you expect us to react?!"

Funshine just groaned and threw up his arms, "How did you want me to say 'hey I think I might feel better if I was a girl' to everyone!?"

"I don't know I…" Swift Heart sighed, "I just don't know. I just… Look I'm sorry ok!"

Funshine dropped his arms, "OK." He was about to turn and leave when Swift Heart spoke again.

"There's one more thing," Swift Heart said as Funshine turned back to face her, "True Heart asked me about what you were going through and she's on her way to-"

"Funshine! Funshine!" The voice was interspersed with some heavy breathing as True Heart Bear jogged towards the house. Funshine turned to watch True Heart until she stopped, bent over with her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

Funshine gave a sideways glare to Swift Heart then turned back to True Heart, "Did you need something, True Heart?" he tried his best to

"Just…a…minute…" True Heart panted then took a deep breath and managed to stand up and face Funshine. "I need to talk to you."

Funshine tensed as True Heart continued, "Swift Heart told me about your problem and I wanted to try and help."

"It's not a problem," Funshine bristled.

"I mean I want to help you. I don't understand-"

"NO, you don't," Funshine ground out.

True Heart was astonished, "Funshine, please, if you'll just come with me and see Take Care."

"I don't need to see Take Care! I'm not sick!" Funshine's face contorted in rage.

Swift Heart took Funshine's arm, "Funshine, please just do this so we can settle things."

Funshine gave a sigh of exasperation and glared at Swift Heart then True Heart. "Fine, let's get this over with."

OoOoO

"Other than a huge increase in stress and too few electrolytes compared to his last visit, there's nothing wrong with Funshine," Take Care looked up from her report, "He's in better shape than most of the family but I'd say that he hasn't been eating well the past few days, not badly enough to hurt him but he should get some rest and eat some more before he goes back to his usual 'extreme sports' activities."

"I see…But what about this whole…" True Heart struggled to find the words, "Gender Dysphoria?"

Take Care sighed and set her report down, "I'm sorry, True Heart, but I only told you about his physical health because he told me to. I'm bound by doctor-patient confidentiality on everything else. However…" She leaned forwards and stared hard at True Heart, "I can tell you that he is very lonely lately and he's going to need support to get through this. Avoiding him and treating him like he's sick is going to make things worse. Just try to be understanding, that's what we're good at. Now if you don't mind," Take Care stood up, "I have a date with Love Heart tonight, excuse me." Take Care stood up and left her office, heading into the part of the building that was her home.

True Heart exited just in time to see Funshine leave the office. She wanted to call out to him but stopped, sighed, then left the office and headed for home.

OoOoO

Take Care Bear was wearing a modest black dress without sleeves when Love Heart arrived at her house. Love Heart was wearing a sport's suit jacket over a dress shirt and dress pants, no tie though.

Take Care smiled, "Not bad for a first effort. Shall we go?"

Love Heart nodded, "OK, I found a place. Not sure how good it is though."

"It's the thought that counts," Take Care gave him a kiss on the cheek and grabbed her wallet, which she stuffed into a pocket that had been sewed into the dress, "Can you drive?"

"Haven't got the hang of it yet, but I have another way," he grabbed Take Care around the waist from behind and held on tight. "I've got you." Wind whipped up around them and they lifted off the ground.

"Oh my goodness!" Take Care had heard that Love Heart knew how to fly, but to feel herself lift off the ground with nothing under her feet was beyond exhilerating.

"I won't let you fall." Love Heart took off over the edge down towards Earth.

Take Care felt her heart leap into her throat as the sensation of free-falling hit her hard until they leveled off and Love Heart's grip around her waist tightened.

"This is amazing!" Take Care laughed, "How fast are we going?"

"Faster than you think, but there's a barrier of wind surrounding us so you barely feel it," Love Heart held her closer just to be safe, "We're almost there."

Take Care was almost disappointed when the exhilaration of flight ended as they landed in front of the restaurant, but she smiled nonetheless. "After the exiting flight over, I think dinner isn't going to measure up."

Love Heart chuckled nervously, "Just a place I found when I used to live here with Confidence Heart's family."

"Thank you," Take Care gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Now then, lead the way."

Love Heart nodded and took her hand to escort her in.

A couple hours later, Love Heart once again flew both himself and Take Care back up to the Kingdom of Caring, though he was exhausted as he landed in front of her house/hospital.

"That was a lovely evening, Love Heart," Take Care gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Want to come in?"

"Really? I mean right, of course," Love Heart cleared his throat, "I'd love to."

"You don't have to if you're not ready," Take Care assured him as she opened her front door.

"No," Love Heart shook his head, "I need to take this plunge or I'll never get over it, besides," he smiled, "I admire you."

"Oh, really?" Take Care waited until Love Heart had passed into her house and shut the door behind her.

"Yes, I like confident and capable women, I mean you need to have confidence and a lot of dedication to be a doctor." Love Heart said.

Take Care blushed, "Well it wasn't easy, but I wanted to do it and had to do it, for everyone's sakes."

"Exactly, maybe that's why I like Harmony Bear too," Love Heart scratched the back of his head, "I mean, learning music and performing is hard to do, all those people staring at you…"

"I see," Take Care took Love Heart's jacket and hung it up for him, "Thank you." She gave him a kiss on the nose. "Now then, shall we?" She led him towards her bedroom.

Love Heart chuckled nervously as he entered and began to remove his shirt, "I still can't believe I'm doing this."

"You'll believe it." Take Care reached behind herself, unzipped her dress then slid out of it. She stretched her arms behind her head, "Take a look."

Love Heart had tossed his shirt down and turned around. His jaw fell open as he saw Take Care, all her lavender fur exposed save for a lacy black lingerie panties and bra that carely covered her C-cup breasts where her chest symbol rested: a purple heart holding a yellow star. "Wow, I mean, where were you hiding those?"

Take Care giggled a she lowered her arms and draped them around Love Heart's neck. "All my clothes keep me looking professional, don't want my patients staring at my chest when I'm trying to treat them." She giggled and swayed slightly as she hooded her eyes towards him, "I bought these a couple years ago as a treat for myself, but then the whole 'I helped raise everyone up here' hit me and I realized I didn't have anyone I could wear this for, until now." She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss.

Love Heart finally reacted and carefully undid his belt, letting his pants drop. He edged around behind her and reached his hands up to cup her breasts, "Thanks for sharing this with me." He leaned forwards to whisper in her ear, "Now I'm going to share with you."

Take Care giggled, "Oooh, don't make me wait!"

OoOoO

In a hastily constructed arena in front of Soul Heart's house. Marine Heart was knocked to the ground as he stood facing Flash Heart. He was aching from several heavy blows the Bear had dealt him with his kusarigama. "RAAAAGGGGHH!" Marine Heart launched a torrent of water at Flash Heart only for a blast of light to bisect the beam and strike Marine Heart in the stomach, laying him out flat.

Soul Heart stood up from where she had been watching with Shatter Heart and Blade Star, "Alright, that's enough. Flash Heart you're done for the day, Shatter Heart bring Marine Heart to my house for his turn for augmentation."

"So that's how this goes now?" Flash Heart dissipated his weapon, "Loser goes for experiments and the winner goes free."

"Exactly," Soul Heart grinned, "And I expect every one of you to need this at some point. Don't get too comfortable, Flash Heart." Soul Heart left with Shatter Heart who had the injured Marine Heart Otter draped over a shoulder.

"This is fucking insane," Flash Heart swore aloud as he turned to leave, "Why are they all going along with this? Why am I…" he stopped halfway to his house and began to apply magical healing to his injuries, "Because I won't abandon them, even if this drives them crazy I would never abandon them to her, even if we have to do this." He looked skywards, "I need to find a way back to that castle, someday."

Inside Soul Heart's house she had Marine Heart strapped down to table as Soul Heart created another dose of the green substance she had used on Passion Heart, this time brighter green and only the size of a single drop.

"Not too much this time," she floated the small drop over to Marine Heart and dropped it onto his chest. The otter gave a sudden gasp of pain the grit his teeth as it absorbed.

"Good, like I thought it just needs smaller doses and more time to adjust. This should prove fruitful," Soul Heart stood back to watch as the otter convulsed on the table, "If this works then in just a couple months we will be unstoppable.

OoOoO

With the help of the rest of the Care Bear Family, Life Heart had set up three dozen towers around Care-a-Lot and the Forest of Feelings. Each three meters tall, made of red and blue steel and topped by an eight pointed star, each in a different color. Despite her due date rapidly approaching, Life Heart worked every waking minute on preparing the ritual for her spell and inscribing glyphs on a single larger tower that was attached to the top of the old caring meter and topped with a rainbow colored eight-pointed star.

Life Heart finally floated down from where she levitated next to the tower, hand on her huge taut tummy as Sage Heart caught her. "And it's ready." She turned away from the Caring meter to face the crowd, as everyone had gathered so everyone would know what was going on.

Life Heart took a deep breath then spoke, slowly at first but picking up speed as she spoke, "Care Bear Family, this is a magical device that will accelerate time for the entire Kingdom of Caring. For the next three months of real time we will be moving at twelve times the rate of the rest of the world; it will take three years of our time before we return to normal time. Bright Heart has set up a special calendar in the Hall of Hearts to track the time in the real world. Now is everyone ready?"

There were choruses of uncertainty, but no one objected. Life Heart nodded and turned back to face the Caring Meter. Her horn lit up with energy as she spoke words in a language no one understood before a beam of blue energy shot out from her horn and struck the star on the top. The star glowed bright blue the shot out beams in 36 directions, each flying to one of the towers set up everywhere else. Everyone felt a slight wave of nausea as their relative time increased and the whole Kingdom of Caring shuddered.

They were sealed in.


	35. Under the Shield

Chapter 35: Under the Shield

Harmony Bear sat near the edge of the Kingdom of Caring, staring through the barrier at the night outside, even though it was day for them.

"Just watching the world go by?" Love Heart Bear walked up behind the bench Harmony was sitting on and sat down next to her.

"Yeah, it's really weird," She pointed out to where the light suddenly turned to darkness, "How is it night out there and day in here?"

Love Heart leaned back against the bench, "Something mom came up with. Time passes normally out there but the sky is an illusion that changes so we have normal days and nights in here."

Harmony turned to Love Heart, "Shouldn't you be training?"

"We're finished for the day, Confidence is spending time with Cheer and Champ and Take Care is busy with a couple injuries Defiant and Anger Heart inflicted on each other," Love Heart sighed, "At least they're learning."

"So you have the night off?" Harmony smirked and leaned up against him, "Want to come back to my place for supper?"

Love Heart blinked then chuckled, "Sure."

Love Heart decided to take a stab at making supper and it wasn't a total disaster, granted tortellini and meat sauce wasn't the hardest thing to make. Harmony didn't have a dining room, she had cleared it out to make space for her music hall, so they just sat in front of her Television and ate off TV trays.

"Too bad we can't get signals through the barrier. Wanna watch a movie?" Harmony said.

Love Heart swallowed then set his fork down, "Sure. Let me see." He stood up and looked through the collection of DVDs next to Harmony's TV, until one caught his eye, "The Care Bear's Movie?" he pulled it out.

Harmony rolled her eyes, "That's just a big movie they made of us, hun, it's kinda goofy and exaggerated but it is based on one of our bigger cases."

"So it's like historical fiction?" Love Heart looked up at her.

"Kinda. But sure let's watch it and you'll see." She took another bite of supper and motioned to the DVD player. An hour and a half later both the movie and supper were finished, though Harmony was cringing slightly at several points in the movie.

While they were washing the dishes, Love Heart and Harmony discussed the events they had seen in the movie.

"So was the Spirit Book real?" Love Heart asked.

Harmony nodded as she dried a plate and set it back in the cupboard, "Yes, she was. We're just relieved she's still sealed away."

"What about you and the cousins being separated?"

"Not a thing. Nicholas exaggerated most of the events and he was a 'fact councillor' during the production. Besides he never even came to the Kingdom of Caring during that stuff, he was in the carnival that whole time."

"Wait… if we're sealed off from the outside world would that mean the Kingdom of Caring is going to fall apart with a lack of caring and happiness from children in the world?"

Harmony snorted, "If that could destroy us we would have died a long time ago. There are more unhappy children all over the world in places where our help doesn't do any good, places that struggle just to stay alive and have enough to live on." She put the last dish away and drooped slightly, "It's hard to think about them, but we don't have the resources to help them and our advice is only useful for those who might grow up to change the world some day, relief efforts and charities are more capable of doing those things. I just wish we could help them all in more meaningful ways."

"Maybe we can," Love Heart drained the sink and dried his hands, "When this battle is all over maybe we'll have a way to help them more than we ever could before." He put an arm around her shoulder. "So the Kingdom of Caring wasn't actually almost destroyed?"

"Oh no, that totally almost happened. The Spirit Book's spell was designed to destroy is, I guess it knew we were going to be its greatest enemy. If Nicholas had completed the spell we would have been homeless."

Love Heart nodded, "So why weren't you in the movie?"

Harmony rolled her eyes, "Because they thought it would confuse the kids if they had more than one purple bear in the movie and with Share in, I was out. But I was in there in my own way," she smirked, "They had to get our permission to use our likenesses in that cartoon so I told them I would only agree to be left out if I wrote all the songs for the movie, not alone of course and they gave my partner in composing all the credit but I'm in there and they at least let me into the second movie."

"I'm impressed," Love Heart smiled, "Can we watch that."

"Nah, not tonight, I've had enough of watching weird cartoons about us. I'd rather spend time with you." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Love Heart blushed but turned and returned the kiss to her.

"I think I'm getting used to all of this," Love Heart put his arms around Harmony.

Harmony giggled, "Good. Now where should we begin?"

OoOoO

Funshine Bear was dressed in his gym outfit, a tank top and shorts, as he snuck through the Kingdom of Caring doing his best to avoid the dirty looks anyone shot him if they spotted him. He cringed when he had to walk too close to Good Luck Bear but did his best to just hurry onwards to the gym, slamming the door behind him once he arrived.

Funshine found himself staring at Champ Bear, Cheer Bear and Confidence Heart Fennec, all dressed in the same gym clothes he was and the last of whom was holding a basketball in both hands.

"Hey sports fan. Are you alright?" Champ walked over and offered a hand to Funshine.

Funshine brushed past him, "Thanks but I don't think you want to be seen with me."

"Why not?" Cheer put her arms on her hips, "Because of the whole 'I want to be a girl' thing?" she waved him off, "Seriously what's wrong with that?"

Funshine just stared at Cheer, then to Champ, "Really? I mean you don't mind?"

"Mind what?" Champ shrugged and put an arm around Funshine's shoulders, "I mean sure, it's gonna be weird seeing you as a girl if you do this 'cause you've been a guy all your life, but I'll support you."

Funshine smiled, "Thanks, Champ."

"Me too," Cheer bounced over to Funshine and smirked, "Besides you're gonna need someone to guide you through the wonder world of the female body."

Funshine laughed, "I've done some research, but I would appreciate it."

The sound of a bouncing basketball drew their attention as Confidence bounced the ball on the gym floor, "I'm happy you guys are bonding over this and I admire your bravery, Funshine, but are we going to play a game or not?"

Champ pulled away from Funshine and walked back to the side of the court opposite to Confidence, "Alright, sports fan. You and Funshine against me and Cheer, ok?"

"Sounds goods," Cheer cartwheeled over next to Champ, stopping just right that she was able to lean up against him as Funshine joined Confidence Heart.

Confidence bounced the ball and grinned, "Time or score?"

"Ten minutes, highest score wins," Champ said as Cheer stood up and they stood ready.

"OK." Confidence tossed the ball to the middle of the court and stopped it on a small twister.

"No fair!" Cheer protested.

"Relax, I'll be fair." Confidence exhaled and the tornado compressed like a spring and shot the ball straight up. Champ and Confidence both dove for it but Champ was just a bit faster and knocked the ball back towards Cheer, who caught it easily and dribbled it past Funshine as he tried to intercept her. Confidence was about to steal the ball when Cheer jumped up and made a jump shot from just on the 3-point line.

Cheer smirked, "3-0, your turn."

Confidence's gaze narrowed to a laser focus as she retrieved the ball, "This isn't over yet."

Ten minutes later, the final score was Champ and Cheer 37 to Confidence and Funshine 31. Everyone was sweaty and panting as Confidence grabbed the ball and put it back in storage, "How the heck did you do that?" Confidence asked, once she had her breath back.

Champ grinned, "Strength and speed only go so far if you haven't played the game as much as we have. Not bad all things considered."

"Yeah, we used to have an annual Bears vs Cousins basketball game, and until the last two the Bears won every time," Funshine grinned.

Cheer rolled her eyes in annoyance, "But then Lotsa found out how to use ballet in the game, and they all started practising more."

"And you quit because you kept losing?" Confidence Heart gave Cheer a lopsided look.

"No!...kind of…" Cheer gave her an annoyed look.

"After the second time they beat us, Brave Heart offered to let us stop the games and 'preserve out dignity' as he put it." Funshine sighed, "At least we can still have friendly games every now and then."

"Well I've had enough for today," Confidence Heart stretched her arms then headed into the locker room.

Cheer watched her go, then smirked, "I'm gonna call it quits too. See ya." She undid her ponytail as she followed Confidence Heart.

Funshine and Champ watched them go then went over to the weight machines. They worked out in silence for a couple minutes before Funshine stood up from the chest press and watched Champ on the bench press for a moment.

"Champ, would you find me attractive if I was a girl?"

Champ started, just barely keeping the weights steady enough to lower before he answered, "What?!"

Funshine repeated the question, "Would you find me attractive if I was a girl?"

Champ said up, sweating as much from nerves as exercise. "Well, I mean…" he took a deep breath to steady his nerves, "I don't know. I mean I don't know how you'd look and I'd still like hanging out with you. I guess it would be weird because I've known you as a guy our whole lives, Funshine. I can support you if…" what Funshine was saying finally hit him. "Do you have a crush on me?"

Funshine blushed, "I'm pansexual, Champ, and I've always liked you."

"Even though I only like girls," Champ averted his gaze, "I mean…I won't say no but I'll have to wait and see how things go."

Funshine smiled, "Thanks. I'm gonna clean up and head out OK?"

Champ nodded and lay back down, "OK, sports fan." He started up on the bench press again, trying to parse out what Funshine had told him.

OoOoO

Cheer found Confidence Heart in the showers and gave an eager grin as she crept up on the fennec. Despite the water falling down around her, Confidence heard Cheer approaching but acted like she didn't know until Cheer was right behind her. Cheer tried to grab Confidence around the chest but the fennec slipped aside and behind her. Cheer was stunned for a moment until she felt the fennec's arms wrap around her from behind.

"Surprise," Confidence whispered in Cheer's ear. "You might have me beat at basketball but I have my own skills."

Cheer tried to act tough, "Oh so what are you going to doooooo!" She gasped as Confidence Heart grabbed her breasts and squeezed them.

"More sensitive than I thought." Confidence practically purred. "I think I'm ready now."

Cheer turned around so their chests were pressed together and gave a seductive grin to Confidence, "Oh, really?"

Confidence smiled and carefully pushed Cheer backwards until she was pressed up against the shower wall, "I am. Love Heart took the plunge so I think I will too."

"Good!" Cheer leaned forwards and pressed a big kiss onto Confidence's mouth.

Funshine smiled when he saw the two girls going at it but just went to his own shower head and cleaned off before leaving the two to enjoy each other's company. When he passed through the gym again Champ was still working out, doing squats with a set of weights in his hands.

"You were done fast," Champ set the weights on their stand as Funshine passed.

Funshine shook his head and smiled, "Nah, the girls are just getting intimate in the showers, don't know when they'll be done. I'm gonna head home."

"Already?" Champ looked disappointed.

"Yeah. I mean I feel better but I still need some time alone," Funshine stepped outside, not hearing Champ's last shout.

"Haven't you had enough time alone?!" Champ sighed as the gym door closed behind Funshine.

Cheer was the first to exit the locker room, a contented grin on her face as she approached Champ. "Hey, lover," she wrapped her arms around Champ and gave him a big kiss.

Champ kissed back, "Have fun?"

Cheer giggled, "More than fun, and I think it's time for you to have some fun too. Where's Funshine," she looked around, not seeing the yellow bear anywhere.

"He went home," Champ said.

Cheer pulled away from him, "I think I'll follow him. He might need some help relaxing," she winked and headed for the door. Champ watched her go with fascination, until he felt something wet grab his arm.

"Hey Champ," a still dripping wet Confidence Heart pulled Champ towards her, a seductive smirk on her face.

Champ suddenly felt very hot, "Hey, Confidence. You're still wet." Was all he could manage.

Confidence giggled, "You bet I am, I think it's time for you to get cleaned up." She carefully pulled him towards the locker rooms.

Champ couldn't resist grinning, "Yeah."

OoOoO

Funshine was maybe in too good a mood as he walked him, ignoring anyone who gave him funny looks, right up until one of them finally approached him.

Playful Heart Monkey, whose chest symbol was a heart wearing a party hat with a party favor in front, walked right into Funshine's path. "Funshine, I need to talk to you."

Funshine's smile vanished. He and Playful had been close friends as children but they had slowly drifted apart as the years went by and Funshine's interest shifted from pranks to sports. "What about?" Funshine asked, though he was certain he knew exactly 'what'.

"This whole, 'I wanna be a girl' thing you're going through." Playful grabbed Funshine's shoulder, "You can't be serious, I mean why would you want to change yourself, you're just fine the way you are."

Funshine glared and roughly grabbed Playful's hands and tore them off his shoulders, "No I'm not! And this isn't just a 'thing' I'm going through. I've been thinking about this for years and I just don't feel right in my body."

"Your body is fine!" Playful threw up his arms, "Why is it so hard to be comfortable with who you are?"

Funshine was still glaring as he stepped around Playful Heart, "If you have to ask that then I can't possibly explain it to you."

Playful just stood there as Funshine walked past him, then sighed and headed into the Forest of Feelings, grumbling to himself.

Funshine was incensed and he started to stomp the clouds as he headed home. If there was any remnant of his good mood left it was literally smashed out of him when the mud covered rock hit him in the side of his head.

Funshine fell to the clouds, mud plastered to the side of his ringing skull as he turned to see who had thrown it. Share Bear stood there, her face a mask of rage as she approached Funshine, her hands balled into fists. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" she demanded.

Funshine tried to stand but Share pushed him back down and stepped on him to keep him from standing, "You show up as a girl at a meeting without saying a word, hide out in your house for weeks and now you're just walking around the Kingdom of Caring as if nothing happened?!" She bent down to stare him down, "What is wrong with your head?"

"Right now, mud and pain," Funshine said, he couldn't focus on what Share was doing as he started to cry.

"I mean in your head. For crying out loud why are you trying to change who you are?" She sighed, "I mean do you think there's something wrong with being a boy? What if everyone thinks the same way."

"I'm not trying to change the way other people think, I-"

"Just stop it and accept who you are. That's what we used to teach children every day. What kind of message are we sending with this?" Share spread her arms as she stared down at Funshine.

"GET OFF HIM!" Cheer practically screamed as she stormed towards Share. Share turned to face her just as Cheer pushed her off Funshine, "What the hell is your problem, Share?!"

"My problem?!" Share pointed first at her chest then to the still downed Funshine, "What about his problem?!"

"He doesn't have a problem, you do!" Cheer had to resist grinding her teeth as she stared Share down, "Unless he smacked himself in the face with mud and forced himself to the ground."

"Don't you see what this means?" Share spread her arms. Before she could continue, Cheer stomped forwards, grabbed one of Share's outspread arms and hurled her to the clouds. Share, like many members of the Care Bear Family, often forgot that under Cheer's normally bubbly demeanour, she was just as strong an athlete as Champ was. The clouds cushioned her fall and kept her from being hurt, but Share was stunned and struggled to get up as Cheer helped Funshine to his feet.

"Here, I'll help you stand," Cheer gave Funshine a look of concern before she turned to glare at Share. Then she noticed that Proud Heart was standing nearby and had watched the whole thing unfold in silence.

Cheer just stared Proud Heart down and the cat turned away and walked back into the Forest of Feelings. Cheer gave a mild snort of derision, "Forget them, let's get you home."

Funshine sat on the closed toilet lid in his bathroom as Cheer cleaned the mud off the side of his head. Cheer winced as she pulled a small rock from the mud and revealed that Funshine was bleeding. She carefully soaped up a cloth and scrubbed the rest of the mud away, dried it with a towel and bandaged the wound.

Funshine managed to smile despite the fact that he was still crying, "Thanks Cheer." He rubbed the tears away with the back of his arm.

"That's what real friends are for. Just ignore them," Cheer stood up.

Funshine stared at his feet for a moment, then stood up and followed Cheer into the living room. Cheer plopped down on the couch and watched as Funshine trudged over to sit next to her. Cheer leaned forwards and saw that he was crying again.

"Funshine, I… I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner."

Funshine turned to face her, "It's not your fault, you didn't know they'd do that," he rubbed his bandaged head wound. "Thanks for saving me from Share."

Cheer put an arm around his shoulders, "It's what real friends would do. Just ignore them."

"But I can't!" Funshine winced slightly, "What if everyone else thinks the same, I mean True Heart thinks I'm sick and Playful…I think he thinks I'm crazy."

"Oh…" Cheer knew how close Funshine and Playful had once been. The prankster duo of the Kingdom of Caring in their younger days before Funshine's interest turned to sports and away from comedy. "Do you still want to be a girl though?"

Funshine nodded immediately, "Yes, but maybe I'm jumping into this too soon…I don't know." He dropped his head into his hands.

Cheer rubbed his back, trying to think of something to make him feel better. An idea struck her and she smiled, "So, if you could choose what you look like as a girl what would you look like?"

Funshine looked up at Cheer and dried his eyes again. He looked her up and down and answered, "I think I'd like to look kind of like you."

Cheer smiled and put her arms behind her back, pushing her chest out, "Oh really?"

Funshine smiled, "Yeah. I mean you're hot, you've got nice tits and you're still as strong as ever. Don't think I'd want to have long hair though but I'd like to be taller, like Hidden Heart or Brave Heart."

Cheer giggled, "So you want to join the double-d club eh?" She leaned in closer, "Can't say I blame you."

Funshine put an arm around Cheer and pulled her closer, "Yeah, I think I would."

"Well I'll have to help you through that," Cheer rolled onto Funshine's lap so her chest was level with his face, "I mean there's back pain you have to learn to deal with and I bet your balance is going to be completely out of whack, but I can be your personal trainer if you do go through with that." She leaned down, giving him an eyeful of her cleavage.

"I'd like that," Funshine kissed her and twisted sideways, pulling Cheer down on top of him until they now lay sideways on the couch.

Cheer was heating up as she broke the kiss, "Wait, you still want to do this?"

Funshine nodded, "It's weird, but I'm still a guy for now." He kissed back, "I might as well get what's left of this out of my system before I take the plunge."

OoOoO

Giving birth never seemed to get any easier for Life Heart Unicorn, especially not with twins. After a long a grueling day she gave birth to two healthy unicorn foals: an orange girl with purple hair and a tail tuft they named Wild Heart Unicorn with a chest symbol of a heart with a lightning bolt through it and a purple boy with orange hair and tail tuft named Meek Heart whose chest symbol was a heart resting on a cloud. Life Heart was released from Take Care's hospital later that day. By now she and Sage Heart had been given their own house. Despite her young age, Sweet Heart decided not to move in with her parents, especially with two cubs about to be born.

Life Heart was roused one morning by the twins crying and quickly went to nurse them. Once she nursed them, burped them, and put them down to bed, Life Heart went to her new living room and stood near the window. She was bathed in the false moonlight created by her spell as she looked out the window. Tears trickled down her cheeks as something finally dawned on her.

"My children will grow up alone and without friends, again." She hugged herself tightly and stared down at the floor. "I can't! I won't let my children grow up alone!" Her horn glowed as she looked out the window again and brought her hands together up to her chin. "They won't grow up alone!" Magic spread out from her horn and engulfed the Kingdom of Caring for a brief instant before dissipating like white mist.

Only Bedtime Bear, the light blue male night watchmen with a clouded crescent moon for a chest symbol, saw this event, but he didn't know what it meant as he was a loner by nature. He merely noted it in his night log and waited to see if there were any effects on following days.

OoOoO

Proud Heart Cat approached Loyal Heart's house. Everyone had become concerned over the blue dog's state of mind ever since his encounter with Passion Heart. He had only come to the Hall of Hearts for meals four times in the last two months and each time he looked and smelled like he had just gotten out of bed, if not worse. Several members of the Care Bear Family had tried to visit him only to be turned away but they respected what they assumed was just a desire for privacy. Proud Heart decided to take matters into her own hands as she finally knocked on the front door of Loyal Heart's house.

The only answer Proud Heart received was a groan from the other side.

Throwing caution to the wind, Proud Heart opened the door and recoiled at the smell. She found Loyal Heart lying on his couch amidst an uncountable number of empty bottles. One whiff was all she needed to know what happened as she made her way across the living room and to the couch.

"Loyal Heart, what going on here?" She stood over where he lay on the couch.

Loyal Heart blinked and stared up at her, "Proud? Why you here?" he mumbled.

"To see if you're alright." Proud Heart pulled Loyal Heart off the couch and helped him to his feet. She grimaced at the smell, "No way wet dog is worse than this. You need a bath, or a shower." She carefully guided him towards the bathroom. Thankfully it seemed that the mess didn't extend beyond the living room so Proud Heart was able draw a bath for Loyal Heart and help him in.

Loyal Heart didn't resist as Proud Heart scrubbed him down, starting with his head and ears then moving down his back, stopping once to drain the bath and refill it as the water became too dirty to use.

Loyal Heart remained silent until he was nearly clean. Though he was still clearly in a drunken stupor, Loyal Heart looked up right at Proud Heart and said: "I love you."

Proud Heart smiled as she finished up and finally drained the tub, "I know. I love you too."

"No," Loyal Heart shook his head as Proud Heart helped him out of the tub, "I'm in love with you, I have been for years."

This made Proud Heart start for a moment, "Really?"

Loyal Heart stumbled and caught himself on Proud Heart as she supported him, "You are the most beautiful and radiant person I've ever known, but I can't tell you because I want you all to myself and that's selfish," he hung his head.

Proud Heart helped Loyal Heart towards his bedroom, purring all the way, "Well now. You have me all to yourself tonight." She helped him lay down on his bed then smiled and climbed over him.

"Am I dreaming?" Loyal Heart stared up into Proud Heart's hooded eyes, unable to focus.

"It can be," Proud Heart purred. She leaned down and kissed him, "but for me it's very real."

OoOoO

Loyal Heart opened his eyes. His head was pounding and he was sweaty. He felt a soft vibration against his chest and looked down, to find Proud Heart Cat wrapped around him. He stared down at her in horror and tried to extricate himself from her. Proud Heart woke up and smiled towards Loyal Heart, holding him tighter, "Good morning."

Loyal Heart managed to pull himself free and stood up. "Proud Heart, what happened last night?" He tried to keep his voice level.

Proud Heart rolled onto her front and propped herself up on her elbows, "Well I came over to find you on a downwards spiral, helped you clean up and you confessed your love to me," she purred, "Then I showed you how much I love you."

Loyal Heart stood still for a moment, then turned around. Proud Heart was shocked to see hurt in his eyes as he pointed to the door, "Leave."

Proud Heart sat up, her expression turning to one of shock, "What?"

"Leave, go home, go get breakfast, just go anywhere. I need to clean up," Loyal Heart kept pointing to the door.

Proud Heart stood up and approached Loyal Heart, "But I though you would want me to stay."

"Not after this," Loyal Heart had started to cry, "I don't want to see you. Just go!" his last bark finally made Proud Heart take of like she had been scalded.

Loyal Heart stood in his room for a moment and shuddered, then he went to the living room and started to clean.

OoOoO

That same morning, Swift Heart Rabbit finally got up the courage to go and visit Funshine Bear, encouraged by Grumpy Bear to at least try. She slowed to a stop some distance away as her ears picked up the unmistakable sound of Funshine's skateboard rolling up and down his halfpipe. She sighed in relief as she approached to see him making a jump up and landing with the precision he usually did.

Funshine saw Swift Heart as he made one of his lip balances, doing what was called a gymnast's plant: balanced on his right arm and spreading his arms and legs wide with the board held in his left, before snapping the board back under his feet as he brought them together and slowed to a stop at the bottom of the halfpipe. He stepped off the board and kicked it up into his waiting hands as Swift Heart approached.

"Hey, Funshine," Swift Heart leaned on the fence surrounding the skate park. Only up close did she notice the small bandage on Funshine's temple and her eyes widened, "what happened?!"

Funshine touched the bandage momentarily, "Share disagreed with my life choices. What about you?"

Swift Heart was hoping she wouldn't be put on the spot, "I've had time to think about it and… I'm fine with it."

Funshine narrowed his eyes, "Fine?"

Swift Heart took a deep breath, "I mean, I get feeling like something you can't control is wrong with you, maybe not as deep as you do but I still had the whole 'tomboy' thing to go through and I just handled it differently than you. If you want to be a girl then I wish you the best," she gave a semi-enthusiastic thumbs up. Then turned to leave.

"Wait!" Funshine hopped over the fence and darted around to Swift Heart's front.

Swift Heart was a startled but didn't try to step around him, "Yeah?"

Funshine offered her a smile, "Why don't you come in. We should spend some time together."

Swift Heart smiled, "Alright."

They sat next to each other on the couch. "So when are you going to take the plunge?" Swift Heart asked.

Funshine drummed his fingers on his knees for a moment be answering, "I spoke to Life Heart and I'm doing it the day after tomorrow."

"I see." Swift Heart looked down at her feet then kicked them slightly, "I'm sorry for how I acted, I mean…I shouldn't have been such a jerk."

Funshine smiled and put an arm around her, "Apology accepted, now if only Playful and Share were so accepting."

Swift Heart gave a small smirk and turned to face him, "Hey, forget about them. Let them be jerks about it. Just enjoy your last two days as a guy before you have to face everyone."

Funshine chuckled, "Thanks, Swift. Was that an invitation?" he asked.

"Yes," Swift Heart leaned up and gave Funshine a kiss.

Funshine wrapped his arms around Swift Heart and kissed her back. "Might as well give it one last go, Swift Heart. I'll be busy getting ready tomorrow."

"OK, let's make it one last day to remember," Swift Heart pushed him back onto the couch and Funshine let her.

OoOoO

Despite being disgusted with both his own actions and Proud Heart's, Loyal Heart decided to go to the Hall of Hearts for lunch. His return in a more lucid, and cleaner, state was met with enthusiasm and worry, but he managed to deflect their concerns with promise that he would speak to Take Care later.

To his dismay, Proud Heart decided to run up next to him in the buffet line. "Loyal Heart, I just…I'm sorry…" she swished her fluffy tail without even grabbing a plate.

Loyal Heart wanted to just ignore her, but he couldn't and took a deep breath. "Proud Heart, you took advantage of me when I wasn't myself. Do you know what it's called when you do something like that to someone who can't give real consent?"

Proud Heart gulped, "I'm sorry, I just…I thought you needed some comfort…What happened to you?"

Loyal Heart glared sideways at her then answered, "After I was nearly killed by Passion Heart, I lost it for a while. What happened scarred me, physically too, though the fur hides it well. I was lost for a while and I decided to take in the stuff we got for some of our parties back when we were younger but I never drank until lately. It's all gone now, what I didn't drink I poured down the drain. Despite what you did you at least snapped me back to my senses." He turned away from her and went down the buffet line.

"Wait!" Proud Heart didn't even grab a tray as she darted up to Loyal Heart and put a hand on his shoulder. "Last night, you said you were in love with me. Is that true?"

Loyal Heart tensed up and set his tray down before carefully removing Proud Heart's hand from his shoulder and turning to face her. "You were my lady, my perfect princess, beautiful, gentle and I thought you could do no wrong, but it seems I was loving a shadow that or I idealised you too much to learn as much about you as I should have." He turned away and picked up his tray, "You're no longer any of those things to me, you may still look beautiful but I do not see it anymore. I no longer love you."

Proud Heart nearly choked as Loyal Heart walked away from her. She rubbed her eyes then turned and left the Hall of Hearts as she began to cry. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

Either oblivious to the wreck Proud Heart had just become or because he decided she needed to feel the hurt, Loyal Heart gathered up his lunch and found Take Care Bear among the tables seated across from Love Heart Bear and Confidence Heart Fennec. On approach, he cleared his throat to get her attention and asked if he could see her later to deal with his issues. Take Care agreed and extended an invitation for him to join them for lunch, but he declined and went to sit alone.

Defiant Heart was one of the last to arrive after his morning training session, which he stayed for longer than even the others. He witnessed what happened between Loyal and Proud Heart and once the dog was seated alone he went to join him.

"Can I sit here?" Defiant motioned with his head to the seat across from Loyal Heart.

"Go ahead. Can't promise I'll be good company," Loyal Heart didn't even look up from his lunch.

Defiant Heart sat down across from Loyal Heart but didn't start eating yet, "What happened with Proud Heart?"

"I'd rather not discuss that at the moment," Loyal Heart said.

"Alright." Defiant Heart shrugged and dug in.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Loyal Heart spoke, "Thank you for spending the time with me."

Defiant smiled, "You looked like you needed a friend."

"I need more than that, but thank you nonetheless." Loyal Heart finished off his meal, "How has your life been going? Have you had any romantic liaisons?" Loyal Heart shuddered slightly but Defiant didn't seem to notice.

Defiant Heart chewed one of the last bites of his lunch as he thought for a moment, "I tried to have something with Lotsa Heart, but we didn't have enough in common." He saw Loyal Heart's confused look, "I share your preference to not treat so casually. It's fine for everyone else but I think emotional intimacy is more important that physical."

Loyal Heart gave a very brief smile, "Thank you. I too do not begrudge them their free love, but it's not a lifestyle I want, especially not after today…"

Defiant Heart finished off his meal and took the tray as he stood up, "You should tell me what happened, it might help." He saw Loyal avert his gaze and shrugged, "But I'll wait until you're ready."

OoOoO

"I think you should move in with me." Take Care dropped the proposition in the middle of her lunch conversation with Love Heart and Confidence Heart.

Confidence Heart glared at Take Care and was about to reply when the doctor amended her phrase, "Both of you should move in with me."

"Why?" Confidence asked.

"You're still waiting for a house and I have one extra bedroom in my home attached to our hospital. I think it would be a good place for the both of you." Take Care looked from Confidence to Love Heart.

Love Heart and Confidence Heart leaned in to share a quick whispered conversation, minor argument and then gave each other a quick kiss before they sat back up.

"Sounds good to me," Love Heart said.

Confidence Heart folded her arms, "You're just asking because you and Love Heart are lovers."

Take Care smiled, "Yes, and I get lonely there all by myself unless someone comes to me with medical problems. I'd love to have both of you over there."

Confidence Heart rolled her eyes, "Alright. Beats waiting for a new house to be built."

"What about Sweet Heart?" Take Care glanced over to where the little Pegasus was eating with Hugs and Tugs.

"She said she wants to live with Grams, since there's our new twin siblings living with mom and dad now, doesn't want to go through what I went through with her." Love Heart smiled, "Mom said she needs me to watch them in a couple day because she has something important to do."

"Ahh, I see," Take Care nodded and went back to her meal, an idea forming in her mind for that day.

OoOoO

Funshine stood naked in Life Heart's living room; the center of the floor had been cleared to allow him to stand with a lot of clearance on every side.

Life Heart stood in front of him and looked him up and down, "Are you ready for this? Once I start there's no going back."

Funshine took a deep breath and smiled, "Let's do this!"

Life Heart nodded, "OK. Now just hold as still as you can, this won't be like before."

Funshine gave her a quizzical look, "Huh? Can't you just flash and make me a girl permanently?"

Life Heart shook her head, "The spell I used was a magical layer and could be dispelled in the future and the change might eventually wear off even if it's complete. If you want this to be permanent against all factors then I will have to transform your body down to the minutest level, physical instead of entirely magical." She lifted her head to face him again, "Are you ready?"

Fuinshine stiffened up and hardened his expression, "Yes. I'm ready."

Life Heart's horn lit up a bright blue, "Focus on what you want to look and feel like and it will guide the spell," and she directed the spell energy towards Funshine's feet.

Funshine felt his whole body tingle as the wave of magic traveled up his body. His feet didn't change much but his legs became longer as he gained over ten centimeters in height and when the energy reached his hips he felt them widen and he felt his gender shift as the energy raised up over his stomach. Funshine felt tingling all throughout her new body as her stomach became narrower and her finger and arms became slimmer and her shoulders narrowed.

The change she had been anticipating finally hit as the field concentrated on her chest. She brought her hands up to cup her new breasts as they grew in, bigger, and bigger, and bigger! She gasped as the changes moved up to her head, her face shifting into a more feminine bone structure and her eyelashes grew a full centimeter.

The changes finally stopped and Funshine stood there, fully female. She ran her arms down her new body, feeling the changes, especially how she stood a head taller than she had previously. She smiled when she felt the abs she still had under her layer of fur and reached up her right arm and flexing, still feeling the strength still there. Then she reached up to her chest and felt her new DD-cup breasts, hefting their weight to get a feel for them.

"This is awesome!" Funshine took a step forwards, but stumbled with her center of gravity being completely off and had to grab the back of a couch to steady herself. "Ok, maybe not completely awesome," she still grinned.

Life Heart swiped her brow, "It will take some getting used to, I suggest you spend the next few days getting used to your new balance. Excuse me, I need to lie down."

Funshine straightened up, a look of concern on her face, "Life Heart, are you alright?"

Life Heart smiled weakly, "I'll be fine, I've just used more magic than I'm used to lately and the twins are keeping us up, especially Wild Heart." As if on cue, they heard crying coming from another room.

"That would be them. I have to go now. Be careful, Funshine." Life Heart was about to turn to leave when Funshine hugged her.

"Thank you, Life Heart. I'll always remember this." Funshine released her then turned and marched out the door, stumbled, then straightened up as she adjusted her walking pace. She reached into her chest symbol, amusingly noting that it looked like she was reaching into her cleavage, and pulled out her cell phone. "Better call Cheer for a ride. Looks like I need my 'girl lessons' now."


	36. Consequences

Chapter 36: Consequences

Funshine stumbled forwards as she tried to cross her living room floor while balancing an old paperback book on her head. Cheer watched the newly female bear stumble with a smirk on her face, "Alright, that's good, keep your head balanced."

Funshine staggered forwards again and the book fell to the floor as she hit the wall to use for support. Once she had her footing again she crouched down to pick up the book and held it up to Cheer, "Is the book really necessary?"

Cheer snickered, "No, I just wanted to see how much I could get away with."

Funshine glared and hurled the paperback at Cheer, who easily caught it and dropped it into the open gym bag she had brought with her, "But seriously, Funshine, you're doing better than I thought with the sudden weight on your chest."

Funshine did her best to stretch upwards, but overbalanced and fell back against the wall. She giggled and hefted up her new breasts, "It was all worth it, even if it's going to be months before I can get back on my skateboard."

Cheer walked over and pulled her into a standing position, "Well do you feel confident enough to walk outside?"

Funshine stumbled again but forced herself to stay upright, "I need a little more practise. So when does the sore back set in?"

"Give it a couple days, I'll show you how I dealt with it once it sets in," Cheer crouched and fished around in the gym bag and came up with a bra, "First, if you want to start working out again you'll need one of these sports bras." She tossed the garment to Funshine, who caught it and then stared at it.

"Is this one of yours?"

Cheer nodded, "Relax, I haven't worn it since I did laundry. We're the same cup size so it should fit with some readjustment." She saw the somewhat baffled look on Funshine's face and added, "Believe me, it's painful and throws off your balance if you let them bounce freely when exercising. Grams can make you some later but you can borrow mine today. Need some help?"

"No, I got this," Funshine pulled the straps over her shoulders and brought the cups up to her breasts before reaching behind to try and attach it at the back. "Crap, hooks or snaps?"

"Hooks, here," Cheer walked around behind Funshine and grabbed her hands, "follow me and…there." Cheer stepped back and watched as Funshine adjusted the tightness until the bra was comfortably secure.

Funshine jumped in place a couple times, admiring how it held her chest in place, "Damn, now I know why you wear these things. Thanks."

"Anything to help, but I will need that back after today." Cheer was about to say something else when a thought hit her, "You haven't seen Take Care yet have you?"

"No," Funshine turned to her, "Why would I?"

Cheer rolled her eyes, "Gee, maybe because you just got your gender switched with magic and you'd want a doctor to see if everything's in the right place. Grab your gym bag, I'll take you to Take Care and then we're going to the gym."

Funshine sighed, "Alright just give me a minute." She turned and tried to march to her room, but stumbled and had to use the wall for support again.

OoOoO

Funshine stepped proudly out of Take Care's front door, still woblly and wearing Cheer's borrowed sports bra with a big smirk on her face. She plopped down into the passenger seat of Cheer's cloud car, "Well, the doctor says I'm all girl with no problems. Even said if she didn't know better she'd think I was born this way."

Cheer nodded, "Good, now let's see how well your body's held up to the changes."

A few minutes later they were in the change room of the gym with Funshine pulling on her old gym clothes. She grunted as she managed to pull her gym shorts up, "too tight," she muttered.

"Well yeah, girls got wider hips, Funshine." Cheer had already dressed and was watching as Funshine managed to tie off the drawstring of her shorts.

"Oh no, I'm gonna have to replace all my clothes now," Funshine groaned as the realization hit her and she pulled her exercise tank top on only to find that it hung low enough to expose her cleavage, unlike Cheer's. She smirked, "Then again, I might keep this, gives off a nice view."

"Now you sound like Crafty," Cheer giggled, "On that note you should sit with us at lunch and show off, I don't think Love-a-Lot or Gentle will mind."

"Since when do you eat lunch with Gentle Heart?" Funshine asked as they exited the change room.

"Every since Crafty started calling the four of us the DD girls. I think it's just to give Hidden something to gawk at when she's eating," Cheer rolled her eyes, "Gentle Heart's warmed up to it though and I think she appreciates the company."

Funshine nodded then stretched her arms, "Alright, let's see if I'm as strong as ever."

Champ walked in right as Funshine lay down on the bench-press. He only stopped for a moment then darted past when the two girls weren't looking. Even though Funshine told him about the magical "operation", Champ still wasn't prepared for seeing him as a her. He shook off those thoughts and changed, deciding to just deal with it since he couldn't ignore it.

Champ emerged right as Funshine finished her session on the bench-press. The yellow bear sat up with a big grin on her face and flexed her arms, "Alright! I can still bench 120." Then she caught sight of Champ and waved, "Hi Champ."

"Hi," Champ waved back as he went to the treadmill.

Funshine and Cheer exchanged a look and Funshine seemed to immediately read what she was saying and they both grinned. Both got up on exercise bikes next to the treadmill and turned to resistance as high as they could, then started peddling whilst gripping the forward bars.

"Here for a workout?" Cheer asked.

Funshine giggled, "I'd hope so, or maybe he was hoping to see the new sights." Funshine stood up from the seat and pumped the pedals of the bicycle, bouncing up and down as she did so. Champ felt his eyes wander to the generous cleavage window on Funshine's tank-top, especially as she bounced up and down on the bike and she and Cheer started to sweat under the exertion at the bike's maximum setting.

Finally, Champ couldn't resist anymore and got off the treadmill and headed for the bench press. Funshine and Cheer giggled and dismounted, taking up positions on the weight machines as close to Champ as they could. This continued for over an hour until all three of them, thoroughly exhausted, started their stretches with Funshine and Cheer deliberately standing right in front of Champ, especially when Funshine leaned over to touch her toes.

Champ finished his stretches first and hurried into the locker rooms.

Funshine and Cheer giggled, "Oooh, I think that got him." Cheer smiled at Funshine, "How did you pick up on this so fast?"

Funshine fluttered her eyelashes then burst out laughing, "Heeheehee! Maybe it's just that 'woman's intuition' I heard so much about. Also I've seen how you girls flirt so I just followed your lead."

"Well," Cheer pointed to the locker room and grinned, "The follow my lead in there."

Champ had just finished undressing when Funshine and Cheer walked in. He smiled at Cheer then darted into the showers before either of them could get a word in. Funshine watched him go as she undressed, struggling with the sport's bra for a moment before unhooking it.

"Ready?" Cheer asked as she tossed her clothes into the locker.

"Maybe. I think he's still nervous about me," Funshine took a deep breath, "Let me talk to him then you can follow up."

Cheer raised an eyebrow but waited to see what Funshine would do.

"Damn hot shower," Champ muttered as he tried to shower without exciting himself.

"Champ. Can we talk?"

Champ recognized Funshine's new feminine voice but didn't turn around, "Sure, we can talk."

"Is this weird for you?" Funshine approached but not close enough to touch him.

Champ nodded, "Yes. It is I mean…" Champ blushed, "You're hot, Funshine but I know you used to be a guy and now you're a girl and… I just don't know how to feel about you and about this."

"But you were enjoying it weren't you?" Funshine stepped around to his side.

Champ averted his gaze while still blushing, "I was, especially with Cheer there… but still…"

Funshine stepped around in front of Champ, getting soaked by the running shower head, "So what's the problem?"

Champ turned back to face Funshine, keeping his eyes level now that Funshine was as tall as he was, "It's just that I don't know how I should feel about this. Part of me wants to just jump in but then I remember that you're one of my best guy friends and I'm not into guys."

Funshine glared, "But I'm not a guy anymore, I'm a girl and I feel right and I want to try being with you."

"You should give her a chance," Cheer's voice from behind was accompanied by the pressing of her breasts against Champ's back and her arms wrapping around his middle. "She really wants you, just like I do."

Funshine grinned, then noticed that Champ was looking both aroused and uncomfortable so stepped around to Cheer, "I think that's enough, Cheer, he doesn't want it right now. But maybe we could make up for that." She pulled Cheer closer as they stepped to another shower stall.

Champ turned away and took a deep breath. Was it really so weird? Maybe, but he had said he would support Funshine and she wanted him. Maybe…He thought for a moment and turned around to watch the two girls washing each other. Damn sneaky tactics, but then again. Maybe he should give it a try.

Cheer saw Champ approaching over Funshine's shoulder but said nothing, letting Champ sneak up and grab her around the chest. "Maybe I should give it a chance, damn," He gave Funshine's breasts a squeeze, "You're a big as Cheer."

Funshine gasped then grinned, "Well it's what I wanted." She turned her head and gave Champ a kiss, "Want to help me go for a test run."

"Alright, just let me get my bearings. Not sure how well I can handle this," Champ chuckled.

"Don't forget about me," Cheer swung around behind Champ and pressed up against his back, "I wasn't just helping her out to get you, I need some love too."

OoOoO

Champ, Cheer and Funshine entered the Hall of Hearts together with Funshine limping slightly.

Champ looked a little sheepish, "Sorry, I didn't think the change would make you a virgin."

Funshine smiled and waved him off, "You already apologized like ten times, it's fine. But if you feel like you need to apologize then you can get lunch for me."

Cheer spotted Love-a-Lot, Gentle Heart and Crafty seated together and took Funshine's hand. "Com'on, let's show them the newest member of the DD girls." She grinned as she practically pulled Funshine over to the table where the other girls already had their lunches.

Crafty was the first to spot them and grinned as Funshine sat down, "Well hello, Funshine. Looking good."

Funshine smiled, "Thanks. So what do you think."

Gentle Heart gave a nervous smile, "You look very nice, and tall."

"And big right?" Crafty nudged Gentle Heart softly with her elbow then patted her own chest. "I know at least one more person who'll be happy to see you."

"Oh, who's that?" Funshine asked as Cheer got up and headed to the buffet.

"Here she comes, the DD girls' number one fangirl." Crafty grinned and waved over Hidden Heart Wolf.

It took Hidden Heart a moment to recognize Funshine sitting across from her and she blushed, "He-Hello Funshine."

Funshine leaned forwards, "And hello to you too. What do you think of my new look?"

"You're tall like me, and hot," Hidden blushed at her accidental outburst and dug into her lunch.

"I see you've met with her approval," Love-a-Lot laughed.

Champ had loaded up both trays when he spotted Share Bear in the kitchen scrubbing pots. He turned to Playful, the server for the day, "Why's Share on dish duty today? I thought it was Wish's turn."

"Share threw a rock at Funshine because she didn't agree with his whole 'I wanna be a girl' thing," Playful spotted Funshine at a distance, "I see he went through with it. But yeah she's stuck on dish duty for the rest of the month."

" _She_." Champ spoke forcefully then took both trays of food and headed back to the table. He didn't envy Share but after he'd heard what happened he felt she deserved it. No one in the Kingdom of Caring wanted to be on dish duty, cleaning up one's own dishes was one thing but when you have to clean up the dishes for about 40 people and buffet trays three times a day was a nightmare, taking over an hour after each meal was finished when working in pairs. Alone, Share would be there until at least 3:00pm and then close to 9:00pm after supper.

"So how's your training going?" Crafty asked Hidden.

"Oh well…" she stirred the soup in front of her, "It's not as exhausting as yours, I'm just learning magic and spells, and copying things down in a book I keep at home." She stole a glance Funshine again then turned back to her food.

Crafty grinned, "Can't keep your eyes off her new tits can you?"

Hidden Heart blushed but nodded.

A more awkward conversation was about to take place nearby as Proud Heart Cat approached the table where Loyal Heart Dog and Defiant Heart Badger were seated.

"May I sit down?" Proud Heart asked.

Defiant Heart gave her a death glare but went back to his food.

Loyal Heart sighed, "You may. Do you wish to talk, Proud Heart?"

Proud Heart winced slightly at the sharp tone in Loyal's voice but sat down across from him. She put her hands on her lap, "Loyal Heart, I'm so so sorry for what I did I…I just thought you would, I mean," Proud Heart was choking up as she started to cry, finally swallowing to force one last sentence out, "I'll do anything just please talk to me again!"

Loyal Heart set his spoon down then picked up a clean napkin, stood up and walked around to sit next to Proud Heart, "Proud Heart, look at me." She did and he wiped at the tears in her eyes. "I think I can forgive you, eventually, but I won't forget this. I can't love you like I once did and it's going to take time for me to move past this."

Proud Heart managed to smile briefly even as she kept crying, "Can I do anything?"

"Just sit and eat and don't try anything else like that again," Loyal Heart stood up and walked back around to his other side.

"You're a better man than me, Loyal," Defiant Heart said. He looked over at Proud Heart, "I don't really have anything to say to you, but I wasn't the one hurt by this. Excuse me, but I need to get to Love Heart's training session." He stood up and left.

Proud Heart winced but wiped her eyes and started to eat.

Loyal Heart smiled, "I can't fault him for his honesty."

OoOoO

Defiant Heart and Anger Heart sparred back and forth across the clouds, fire and bones shards flying and the badgers striking close with his spear, two strikes almost too close to home. Finally, the two slumped down on the clouds, even Anger Heart's three tails sagging in exhaustion.

"At least we're getting stronger," Anger Heart sighed, "I just wish we had more break time."

"Can't help it. Only three years to get ready or we could all end up dead." Defiant Heart winced as he remembered his encounter with Passion Heart.

"Right." Anger Heart turned to watch where Guidance Heart and Sweet Heart were sending elemental blasts at one another, "So how are things with Loyal Heart?"

Defiant Heart rolled his eyes, "He's doing better than I thought he would. I wouldn't give Proud Heart the time of day but it's not my choice."

Anger Heart nodded and glared at the ground, "Yeah, I agree. Are you interested in Loyal Heart?"

"Romantically…maybe," Defiant Heart sighed, "I like him a lot but we don't know each other that well yet, but we eat lunch together and…I'm trying to help him recover."

"Well, good luck then. Just make sure he likes you first," Anger Heart said.

"I know!" Defiant stood up and pointed his spear at Anger Heart, "Alright, let's get back to it."

Anger Heart glared, "Give me a minute to rest!"

"You've had your minute, now get up!" Defiant ordered.

Anger Heart jumped to his feet as his tails swished behind him and he conjured fire on his hands.

OoOoO

Take Care pulled Confidence Heart aside as soon as she came home, "Confidence I have an idea, come here."

"Alright, hold on I just got back from training," Confidence Heart stumbled slightly as Take Care led her to her own bedroom. Take Care had agreed to give Confidence and Love Heart their own room, though Love Heart visited her at nights on occasion.

"Here, what do you think?" Take Care rummaged opened her dresser and produced a set of black lingerie, "I got them in your size."

"Thanks, I guess." Confidence took the garment, "I thought you didn't like girls like that."

"I don't, but I wanted to do something nice for Love Heart, with all the training he's been putting everyone through, so I thought we could do something for him together."

"Hmm," it finally clicked in Confidence Heart's head what Take Care meant, "Alright. Just let me shower and meet me in our room."

About ten minutes later, Love Heart came home after logging his training report for the day, at Tenderheart's insistence. He grabbed a bite to eat from the fridge, showered and headed for bed, barely registering that Take Care and Confidence weren't around but just assuming they were busy.

Love Heart opened his bedroom door and started, his eyes going wide as he saw Take Care and Confidence Heart standing in front of him, both wearing identical black lingerie.

Confidence Heart stepped forwards and took one of his arms. "Feeling better, Love?"

Take Care strode forwards, putting more sway to her hips as she did so and putting her arms behind her head, "What do you think?"

Love Heart blinked, "I think you're going a lot out of your way for me." He smiled, "Thank you." He pulled Confidence Heart into a hug and gave her a kiss, then took Take Care's hand and pulled her gently in for another kiss.

"Gotta admit, this is more fun than I thought it would be," Confidence pulled at one of her bra straps, "gonna save this for special occasions."

"Well let's make this special then." Take Care sat down on the bed and beckoned for Love Heart to join her. Love Heart approached with a slight push from Confidence Heart, who jump in bed as soon as he was in.

OoOoO

"Thanks for seeing me so early, Take Care," Funshine sat on an exam bed, one hand over her stomach, "I think it was something I ate."

"Considering you threw up in one of the toilets five minutes ago that's a fair assessment. This won't take long." Take Care walked over to Funshine, "It might have something to do with your transformation so I need to be thorough."

Funshine lay back as her blood pressure was taken, "That makes me nervous."

Take Care smiled, "Don't be. Just do the usual thing for your yearly checkup."

Take Care ran Funshine through her usual battery of tests, checking everything she possibly could. When she finally got the results, all she could do is stare at the results.

Funshine fidgeted nervously, "What, is something wrong? Am I going to live?!" Funshine was starting to panic.

Take Care held up a hand, "You'll be alright, but I was partially correct: this condition does have to do with your transformation." She looked up from the results page, "Funshine, you're pregnant."

Funshine just stared at Take Care for a minute before she answered, "What? Pregnant but…I thought we couldn't because of that curse."

"Unless Life Heart removed the curse without telling anyone," Take Care looked over the notes again, "And about a month along if this is right which means… you've been pregnant almost as long as you've been female and that's right after the unicorn twins were born." Take Care paused, "Which means I need to get every girl in the Kingdom of Caring in here for a pregnancy test now, myself included."

It took a couple hours to get everyone together and tested, everyone except Life Heart who refused to come. Take Care refused to reveal the results until after all the rounds of testing were done but finally, she announced the results while standing on her front step, not wanting to crowd everyone into either her living room or waiting room.

"I'll get right to the point. Funshine, Cheer, Swift Heart, Proud Heart, and myself are all pregnant, and all roughly around one month. No one else is as far as I can tell but I can't test at the earliest stages so I'd like the rest of you to come for a follow up in a month just to be sure." Take Care sighed as she heard the voices running through the crowd, some even saying they were going to march over to Life Heart and demand an explanation, others worrying about how this would affect their lives.

"Hold on!" Take Care had to shout to be heard, "Listen, I know we've lived without consequence for a while but I do have a stock of contraceptives and other birth control you can use, and I'll teach you how to use it if you don't want to search for it yourself. Thank god the internet still works," she whispered the last line, "And I will talk to Life Heart myself. Now please go back to your day, I need to finish these reports and I can hand things out later. You'll just have to be more thoughtful in the future."

As the crowd dispersed, Confidence Heart approached Take Care, "So what about me?"

Take Care shook her head, "What your doctor on Earth said is true: your endometriosis wasn't part of the curse. I'm sorry."

"I see," Confidence Heart sighed. "I'm gonna go start my training regime see ya!" She waved over her shoulder as she headed for the training field.

Take Care watched her walking away for a moment, then sighed and returned to her office. She was not looking forwards to filing all these reports, or the conversation she would need to have with Life Heart later, which would have to involve the other three founders and the leaders as well. She wanted to be happy about the child growing inside of her, but she had more things to worry about right now. Maybe later she'd be happy but now…she just needed to get through the day.

OoOoO

Take Care sighed as she stared at a very sorry looking Life Heart inside the Hall of Hearts. Other members of the Care Bear Family wanted to be present but thankfully Noble Heart and True Heart had told them to let the leaders and Take Care handle things.

"Life Heart, just tell me why you removed the curse without telling anyone," Take Care said.

Life Heart scuffed her hooves on the floor from where she sat, "I…I didn't want Meek Heart and Wild Heart to grow up alone without friends like Love Heart and Sweet Heart did," she turned to look at her son, who just groaned at the realization. "And…I wanted to make sure someone would have a child soon."

True Heart put a hand to her chest, "Life Heart, I understand your concern, believe me I felt the same thing when Hugs and Tugs were born, but what you did it's like…"

"It's like replacing someone's birth control with candy and not telling them." Noble Heart's voice was considerably l more hostile than anyone else's.

"Mom, I can't handle this right now, and especially now I have to worry about raising a kid while we're preparing for what could be the fight of our lives when the barrier drops." He turned to Take Care, "Sorry, Take Care. I'll try to make time to help."

"We both have our responsibilities. I need to think about training a temporary replacement," Take Care looked down at some notes she had brought with her, "Bright Heart and Grumpy built all my medical tools so they can at least run things. I'm going to need to train someone to be a nurse too so I can have someone to take over when I get farther along, then there's raising the child." She smacked her face with her notes and leaned back in her chair, "Part of me wants to abort this child right now and skip all of that."

"I can help look after it!" Life Heart jumped up. "I mean I know I have Sweet Heart babysitting right now but I can look after my grandchild whenever you need time."

"That sounds like a fitting punishment." Tenderheart finally spoke.

"Punishment?" Brave Heart turned to face Tenderheart, "For what?"

Tenderheart turned to look at Noble Heart, "Well I think, 'replacing birth control' as Noble Heart put it, is deserving of a punishment of some kind. Life Heart should be an on-call babysitter for each of the five currently expectant mothers when they're children are born. The twins should be almost a year old by then and if Hugs and Tugs are any indication they will at least not be completely dependent on Life Heart by then."

Life Heart gulped, then turned to Tenderheart, "I can do that. I promise."

"Well that's settled," Take Care stood up, "Excuse me but I have to prepare some sex-ed lessons for everyone if they want to keep living the 'free love' lifestyle they're used to."

OoOoO

Word had spread quickly, especially with Take Care's sex-ed lessons. No one was particularly happy about the lifestyle change, but other than the five expectant mothers they begrudgingly accepted the new status-quo but didn't change their activities otherwise.

Proud Heart Cat decided to go a step farther; she'd only had sex once in the last month, too wracked with guilt every since what happened with Loyal Heart. She approached Loyal Heart at lunch, the only time she felt safe approaching him, and sat down across from him and Defiant Heart.

"It's mine." Loyal Heart looked up as soon as Proud Heart sat down.

Proud Heart nodded, "Yes." She stared at the tabletop, she hadn't gotten her food yet but her stomach was demanding it. "I deserve this after what I did."

"Maybe, but I don't think you should face this alone." Loyal Heart said.

"He's right." Both turned to face Defiant Heart, "Proud Heart, what you did was…unacceptable, but if you need help then I don't think you shouldn't be forced to face this alone."

Loyal Heart smiled, "Thank you, Defiant. I agree," he turned back to Proud Heart. "I am willing to help you, and despite what happened I'm not going to abandon our child, even if we are not in any sort of relationship. But first," he pointed to the buffet, "Get some food. You're eating for two now."

Proud Heart managed a smile, "Thank you." She started to reach for a hug, then stopped and stood up to get food.

"Thank you, Defiant Heart." Loyal Heart sunk in his seat a little, "I wasn't sure if I should do the honorable thing or not, after I was taken advantage of. Thank you for affirming my choice."

Defiant Heart smiled, "Anytime. I'll help too."

Loyal Heart shook his head, "No, this isn't your concern."

Defiant Heart prodded Loyal Heart's chest, right over his symbol of a heart shaped medal, "You're my best friend up here, I'll find the time to help when I'm not training." He couldn't resist flexing a muscle, "I'm getting stronger every day."

Loyal Heart chuckled, "That you are."

Defiant Heart wanted to make a move, but instead turned back to his food. One day at a time and let Loyal make his own choice.


End file.
